Trust is like paper, once it's broken, it can never be fixed. The person I am today is a result of my many, life changing, past experiences. Many people say I used to be more “talkative” or “share more about myself.” They’re not wrong, but I have changed. 5 years ago, I was the happiest girl you would have ever met, until I met the person who would change it all, my bestfriend.

It all started in 4th grade, in my new school in Panama, when I was the new girl. As I entered the classroom I felt as if I was entering a room full of scientists, each studying my every move. As I settled into my seat, a girl with long brown hair and a mysterious grin, came up to me.

“Don't worry about them, they're just jealous of you, fresh meat,” she said. And ever since we were friends. Andrea and I were as close as peanut butter and jelly, without each other we were no good. But that all changed rapidly one day. A few days before picture day, Andrea asked me to do her a strange request.

“Can you make me a potion?” she asked, “I need it for a prank,” she continued. I had no clue what she was talking about, because I had never made potions or weird mixtures of anything.“Here's what you need to put in it,” she said as she handed me a list of ingredients. The list included nail polish, nail polish remover, oil, milk, and the worst ingredient by far, frog poop.

“No!” I immediately responded.

“Come on, best friends always help each other, so if you don't do this, it means that we aren't best friends, ” she explained. I was the new kid, and I already had trouble fitting in, so I went ahead and took the list, and watched her grin as I walked away.

The bus ride home was a long, unsettling one. Andrea was like a parrot, she always babbled and repeated things over and over again. Usually, I didn't mind. But what she was babbling about was something that was going to bring my reputation down.

“I'm soo happy you're doing the potion, Julie! You're the bestest friend I've ever had!” she exclaimed. As soon as those words came out of her mouth, all eyes were on me.

“She's a witch!” one girl said.

“That probably explains why her hair is weird and puffy, she probably cursed herself,” another person said. The comments were endless. I just sunk into my seat, and covered myself with my hoodie, wishing all of this madness would come to an end. I sat there ignoring Andrea for the rest of the ride, wondering if all of this was worth doing to save this “friendship.” As soon as the bus dropped me off at my house, I went straight to work.

I spent the whole night making the potion, putting exactly everything Andrea ordered me to put. My under eyes were as dark as coal, I had to take my mom’s concealer to cover them up.

“Everything is going to be ok,” I said while looking at the mirror, as a small tear fell from my eyes into my cheek. I put on a bright smile, and went on with my day. Today was picture day, meaning whoever Andrea was going to prank with the potion, was going to have a miserable day.

“Did you bring it?” she asked.

“Ruined my night because of it,” I replied as I handed her the potion. I immediately dozed off into sleep, only to be awaken by the sound of laughter. It grew stronger and stronger, until I opened my eyes to see what's so funny. As I looked to the left, I was greeted by a reflection of me. Everything was normal, except for a weird substance in my hair. As I looked closer, the texture seemed familiar. Sticky, gooey, with lumps of little tiny brown things that smelled like a dump…

“AHHH!” I screamed. The laughter grew, this time with flashes of people's cellphones. The person holding the mirror revealed themselves, it was Andrea.

“Hope you liked my surprise, fresh meat,” she said. I wanted to say a million words to her, I wanted to fight back, but all that I managed to do was cry.

Looking back on what happened with Andrea, I haven't been the same. It's been 5 years, and yet it’s hard for me to trust people. Instead of making new friends and opening myself, I close myself in my own shell. My trust was shattered, scattered around with certain people holding a piece of it. Needless to say, I've learned how to differentiate a sheep from a wolf in sheep’s skin.