Guilt

Pandora was a high school girl. She was not an ordinary girl. She took great pleasure in things that people never really liked. She had a gothic personality, always dressed in black. Her mother wouldn't let her get any tattoos but she did have mutliple piercings. Any new student that joined the school would get terrified of Pandora seeing the amount of piercing she had. She was sad most of the time and really liked being all by herself. She had no friends until..on april 1st a new girl joined her school. Her name was Mallory. She had the same personality as Pandora. She wanted to get along with her. 

"Hi! can I take a seat next to you?" Asked Mallory. Pandora rolled her eyes and pretended as if she couldn't hear anything.

"Hello? I am talking to you! You cannot ignore me like this!" 

Pandora shouted, "if taking a seat next to me is the only thing that's gonna shut you up then please have a seat."

Their first interaction was not the greatest. Mallory seemed star struck. She was mesmerized by her personality. She couldn't give up that easily. She made it her goal to become friends with Pandora. 

But Pandora still did not seem interested.

Days passed by and still there is no difference. Nothing has changed. Everyday is the same for Pandora and Mallory. Mallory nags Pandora all day and tries to become friends with her. And Pandora puts all her soul into ignoring her.

Mallory shouted at Pandora," Why do you keep ignoring me?" 

"I am not used to having friends and I dont want to get used to it.", replied Pandora. 

"It never hurts to try", said Mallory.

"You don't know, it does" replied Pandora and ended the conversation here.

It was a normal day, Pandora entered the class and Mallory was already there waiting for her. She sat somewhere else but Mallory came and sat there as well. 

Pandora stood up again and picked her bag up. She forgot that her bag's zip was open and everything fell out of her bag. Mallory helped her pick it all up. And noticed that she had no art supplies in her bag. And it was their art lecture that day. She took her art supplies and put them in Pandora's bag without her noticing.

The bell rang and it was their art lecture now. Pandora panicks because she had forgotton the art supplies. Mallory forced her to check her bag. And when Pandora saw the supplies she knew they were Mallory's but kept quiet. 

Some days later, a new kid named edgar joined their school. Everybody thought he was a good student by the looks of him. 

When they had their periodic tests, edgar topped the exams. He literally got full marks in every subject. People were astonished. They started asking him about his study schedule. But instead of telling them his schedule, he told them that they should start doing drugs because that is what makes you a topper.

Pandora loved nothing in the world but getting good marks. She was the topper of her class. But now that edgar became the topper, she didnt quite like it. She thought that maybe if she follows edgar's advice, she can get full marks as well.

She started doing drugs. And soon it turned into an addiction. Her grades dropped and even she knew it was the drugs but she was helpless.

During break time Mallory caught her doing drugs behind the bushes. She was stunned.

Mallory couldnt see Pandora suffering. She explained to her about how this guy tricked everyone into doing drugs. And she needs to get rid of this addiction of hers. She took her to therapy and never left her side. All she wanted to hear was a thank you. 

A year passed by and they were finally going to a college. They all passed out from the school but Pandora had still not become friends with Mallory. Even Mallory was fed up of it all, so she decided to finally let the balloon go. 

They did not tell each other about which colleges they were going to, but somehow ended up going to the same college. Mallory made new friends. And everyone resented Pandora. She realized that she is not used to being alone anymore. It was uncomfortable for her to be alone. This is the moment she realized how important Mallory was. She got into fights and arguments but she was on her own this time. 

It was 9th march, Pandora's birthday. Mallory sent a happy birthday card to her. In that card she mentioned everything she had done for her. Pandora was not an emotional person. But she cried after reading it all. She felt so guilty of not becoming friends with her at that time. They could have enjoyed their school life together. The guilt she had at that moment can never be imagined. She picked her bag up and ran to Mallory. She hugged and said, " please dont ever leave me you dumb fritter." Mallory's eyes welled up too. They both decided to live their college life to the fullest and make it the most memorable time of their lives.

This story was not really about gothic people or drug addiction. It was not even about friendship. This whole story was about realization,guilt and redemption.

Pandora never realized Mallory's worth until she left her side. And Mallory moved on because she was tired of trying. But some bonds are such that no matter how hard you try you wont be able to break them. She had thought of never trying to become friends with her again but when she hugged her, her heart melted.

To be honest, ego should never be a barrier between friendships. If you love someone dearly, chuck the ego, no one can stop you from being with them. People make mistakes, but what's important is to learn from them. If u make a mistake and you realize it you will regret it and feel guilty. But dont end it right here, add one more to the list, redemption. Sometimes it's too late and sometimes its not. Afterall It never hurts to try.