Chapter 3 Finally A Happy Moment

I was stupefied. What had I done? How could they think I would deliberately harm my new friend? But no one, absolutely no one, would entertain my perspective. They whisked me away to the teacher, who was brimming with anger. I was spared physical punishment, but only just. How could this have transpired? I hadn't even been in proximity when the incident unfolded. I had fled long before they'd even begun to run. If anyone was to blame, it certainly wasn't me. Returning to the classroom, I was met with an icy silence, even from my new friend. She, too, had come to believe I was responsible.

The other girls seamlessly stepped into my place, forming new alliances, exchanging secrets, and conspicuously excluding me. Once more, I found myself cloaked in solitude and abandoned to my own thoughts (cries). Days stretched into weeks, and the isolation endured. No one seemed to grasp that I was not at fault. The weight of their assumptions bore down on me, a burden I carried in stifling silence. The incident tore a big rift between us, just like the other classmates always wanted. Days turned into a blur of isolation. They whispered about me, casting glances that felt like shards of glass. Every evening, I'd return home, tears my only solace. At school, I'd make attempts to bridge the gap, but my efforts fell on deaf ears. It seemed everyone had made up their minds about me, and their judgment formed a barrier no words could penetrate. The days stretched on, aching with the weight of their silent rejection. But then, something shifted. Slowly, tentatively, we began to talk again. The ice began to thaw, and I could sense a change in the air. 'Oh wow, a thorn in their side,' I thought to myself, gazing at the other girls. Their faces held a mix of discomfort and resignation. At that moment, their opinions mattered less. I yearned for validation, but the return of my friend was victory enough. We may have been apart, but we were finding our way back to each other. She finally started speaking to me again, I had to apologize for what happened but I remembered telling her like this "I'm sorry, I'm sorry for what happened the other day, I hope we can remain friends and be cool with each other once again, but I honestly did not do it, I did not push you but it is fine, it's over now I guess" I said to her. And she hugged me back. I was so so fulfilled back then it was just one happy moment for me.