Aspen, Lily, and I were best friends. The three of us did everything together. We ate together at recess and played together. We had arguments, but they never lasted longer than a day. By the next day, we were always best friends again. That was the case until this day… “Aspen! Why did you take my limited-edition pen from China?” Lily shouted. I sat silently on the bench. I thought to myself, it is going to be a quarrel again. Aspen’s face turned red.“What’s your problem, Lily? I was just using it! I didn’t even break it!” I took a deep breath and calmed myself, mustering all the courage to confront them before they started ignoring each other like they usually did. “Lily and Aspen, please don’t fight,” I pleaded with them. “Let’s not ruin our friendship over a quarrel.” But instead of listening, they snapped at me.“Stay out of this! It’s none of your business!” After that, the arguing only got louder and louder. I did not think it was the same type of quarrel that we used to have. The next morning, I walked into school with a heavy heart. They will make up like they always do, I told myself. It’s just another argument. But deep down, I wasn’t so sure. And I was right. At school, a “Cold War” happened. Aspen avoided Lily completely. Lily acted like Aspen didn’t exist. I approached them again, hoping to bring back the friendship we once had. But just like before, they did not follow what I said.“Stay out of it. It’s not your problem,” they said. I stood there, caught between two quarreling people, unwilling to stop the fight. Things only got worse the next day. Lily pulled me aside in the morning. “Put a cockroach in Aspen’s bag,” she whispered. I stared at her in disbelief. “If you don’t do it,” Lily warned, “don’t expect me to be your friend anymore.” “Take Lily’s pen. That’ll teach her not to be so selfish,” Aspen said. I was stunned. These people were my best friends. Now they were dragging me into helping them fight. Aspen said the same thing as Lily said to me. My heart pounded. I knew it was wrong. “No,” I said, firmly. “I’m not doing any of it. That’s not right.” They rolled their eyes and walked away, leaving me there, confused and hurt. Then came recess. They gestured to me to go to the usual spot we used to eat together. “Choose,” Aspen said coldly. “You can only be friends with one of us,” Lily added. My throat tightened. I felt like everything was crashing down. “You are both my friends,” I said, trying to stay calm. “I won’t choose.” But they wouldn’t let it go.“Choose!” Lily shouted. I held back tears, my chest aching. Then I took a deep breath and said the only thing I could. “If it can’t be both… then it’ll be none.” As soon as the words left my mouth, I turned and ran, my heart full of regret. The following days were horrible. Aspen and Lily ignored each other. They even started ignoring me. I tried to walk up to them but they glared at me and ran far, far away from me. For a thousand days it seemed, I never enjoyed school. School felt like a burden to confront my long-lost friends. I knew I should not have said not to be any of their friends. I should have just kept quiet, or even just ran away. That was one of the worst decisions I had ever made. I felt really, really remorseful. I remembered the days where we were friends. We ate together, laughed together, and even did our homework together. We had always celebrated our birthdays together. I had always felt very happy back then. But now, all the happy times vanished because of a pen. After thinking about it, I felt very upset. We probably would not get back together again. I looked at the pictures that we took together last year. All the happy memories, all the smiles and laughter. They might not come back again. Tears welled in my eyes uncontrollably and I started sobbing. Days passed, and I realised that Aspen had changed her school because of this incident. Lily also glared at me angrily when I walked past her. I knew for sure that our friendship would just end here, never to come back again. Our past friendship would just be an old memory, a reminder that just a single quarrel can end the closest of friendships. This was the very quarrel that destroyed our friendship, broke our connection, and made all of us suffer. Like needles in our hearts, it would surely change our lives, pricking us with that stress, melancholy and regret that we would never forget.
For the writing contest hosted by @Avohra5
