One Line

I never knew friendships could end so quickly the moment one rumor was told.

People knew me, but not because I was rich, popular, or smart.

People knew me as a liar.

I honestly just wanted to be liked by both of them. I wanted to be known as a trustworthy and loyal friend.

Sometimes, when you try too hard, it just doesn't work out. That was the strange part. If you try too little, it doesn’t work out either.

I was friends with Justin, Ellie, and Vivienne at the beginning of the school year.

Sometimes, when I would call Justin or Vivienne, they would talk about each other. Not anything that serious. But every so often the other person would slip in comments about the other.

I tried to play both sides, but I didn’t know it would make me look dishonest. I didn’t mean to cause any harm, I just didn’t want them to feel like I didn’t have their backs.

This continued on for a few weeks.

Then something happened one day.

I don’t know what it was.

But Ellie just got cold towards me. Quiet. Numb. Whatever you wanna call it. Like the kind of coldness that has you questioning all your moments with them.

She started being nicer to Justin and Vivienne, which didn’t exactly make sense to me, because I’ve known Ellie longer than both of them.

I remember this one night I was fed up with Ellie, and Vivienne was comforting me. She told me that she understood me. That I wasn’t in the wrong for being so mad.

Then, I realized Vivienne, Ellie, and Justin were on a call in our group chat. Which was odd, because Vivienne was just arguing with Ellie.

I join the call, and for a split moment, I see Vivienne sharing her screen. Sharing our messages. Our private messages. Where I was venting to her, and where she was comforting me.

Justin said, “Oh, hey Evelyn. Vivienne was just scrolling through her messages.”

But I knew it was a lie.

I let it go, and thought it was over. Ellie started to actually talk to me again, but she was still a little distant.

Things returned to pretty much normal.

Then March hit.

It was a normal Friday, I walked in, and the 3 of them give me looks.

I try to ignore it, thinking something happened in homeroom when I wasn’t there.

The first half of the day, they were all cold. Not just Ellie. All 3 of them. Eventually, I stopped trying to talk to them. I just walked over to my desk and pulled out a book.

Then, at recess, while I was with my other friend, Raven, they just suddenly go up to me, and Justin says, “Come to the corner. We should talk.”

I don’t go. Not because I wasn’t happy they actually talked to me, but because I knew something was up. I grip the desk’s edge and say, “Sorry, im hanging out with Raven.”

“But it’s important.” Vivienne argues.

I stare at Vivienne. This was the same girl from a few hours ago that wouldn’t let me touch her Chromebook, and now, she wants to talk to me.

I shake my head again and continue talking to Raven.

The three of them are standing there, pushing eachother and saying, “No, you do it!”, until finally, Ellie whispers in my ear, “We don’t wanna be friends anymore.”

I say, “Okay.”

I stay with Raven for a little before walking over to my friend, Annabelle.

Before I even have a chance to say anything, Annabelle just says, “Did you talk about them? They told me they were gonna drop you because you were talking about them behind their backs. And they’re saying you denied it.”

My blood runs cold. My heart is beating, not knowing what to say. I never denied it. They never cared to ask.

I just stare at the whiteboard. Annabelle wraps her arm around me and says, “It’s okay.”

The next couple of weeks were hard. I met new friends, explained my situation, and they validated me. But a lot of people still gave me strange looks in the hallway.

Annabelle pulled away from me, too. She went from supporting me to ignoring me real fast, and it was all because of one lie.

I don’t know if I should’ve tried to play both sides. I don’t know if I should’ve even been friends with them in the first place.

But the strange part was, I wasn’t the only person this happened to.

Annabelle also was said to be talking behind their backs, but then they made up.

Which to me, was odd. They gave Annabelle forgiveness and an explanation. They gave me rumors and a fake story. I was their best friend also, wasn’t I?

In late May, a girl named Mari joined our class.

Annabelle led her straight to our lunch table.

Mari was close to Vivienne, Ellie, Justin, and Annabelle at first.

But Mari was also friends with me. We didn’t really hang out all that much. She hung out with them more.

Then I don’t know what changed. She just hung out with me. Then started coming back more often. I didn’t mind, though.

And then one day at lunch, I saw why.

Everyone at our table was just eating. Then Mari dropped a piece of her apple on the ground. She was about to reach for it when Ellie blurted out, “You know you can’t eat that right? It’s literally on the floor.”

Mari blinked. She replied, “I know.”

I processed what was happening, and realized Ellie was doing the same thing she had done to me.

Mari whispered in my ear, “Ellie’s annoying. I don’t know why she’s talking.”

Me and her got closer after that, and Vivienne, Ellie, and Justin pulled away from Mari.

One day, Vivienne had invited her friends to our lunch table. They weren’t supposed to be there.

Mari came to see her seat taken, and her water bottle on the floor.

She frowned, then looked at the girl sitting in her seat.

“Excuse me, sorry, but I was sitting there.” Mari said quietly.

The girl started grabbing her stuff without saying a word, until Ellie said in a rude tone, “Can you just sit somewhere else? There’s not room.”

Mari grabbed her water bottle and walked away quickly, but I could see her eyes start to water before she walked away.

“Nobody likes her anyway.” Justin added after Mari left.

At recess, me and Mari talk to our teachers about it. This was the 3rd time I’d come to them. They all get phone call homes and pretty bad scoldings.

Mari tells me that they told her to stay away from me at the beginning, but she was glad she didn’t listen. I thanked her for giving me a chance.

Later that day, I’m working with Mari on a project that’s due.

“I hate her so much.” I hear Justin whisper to Vivienne and Ellie.

Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, some things will never change.

You can spend days, weeks, months, or even years trying to create your true image. However, it can take one sentence to undo all of that.