As soon as the school bell rang at Clayford Middle School, there was a cry of relief as students rushed out of their classrooms, scrambling towards their cars and vans, impatient to go home.

“Are you coming to my place this Saturday to practice for the play?” Delphi Willows asked her best friend Polly Nora, who smiled sweetly back at her with a nod.

“Of course, Delphi! I’ll be there even before you know!”

The two girls giggled with a glimmer in their eyes and parted as they went to their cars to go back home.

Clayford School was organising their annual ‘Talent Show’ and the two girls were performing together in a compilation of acts from Shakespeare’s plays. They decided to portray the powerful female characters like Lady Macbeth, Cordelia, Juliet and others. They were proud of their plan and couldn’t wait to perform!

Delphi and Polly were best friends and were always doing everything together, be it sports, projects, races, speeches, etc. It was a friendship that had been growing since five years and more to go.

“Mum! Can we go to a store to buy my costume? The play is on Sunday and I haven’t bought mine yet,” Delphi asked her mother who was driving the car cautiously.

“Sure, dear. I’ll drop you at the store and I’ll buy the grocery while you can select your outfit,” Mrs Willow gazed at the left of the street while turning the steering wheel.

“That’s the store!” Delphi called out, pointing at a large shop with a neon sign, that read, ‘Morris’ Costumes’, with flashing purple lights. Mrs Willow parked her car near the shop and stepped out with Delphi.

“You go inside and see the dresses, I’ll come back in a short while,” she said while sending her inside the shop.

Delphi stepped inside, grinning and gleaming. She was fascinated with the costumes she saw inside the shop. It had almost every kind of costume from every story, movie and play! From animals to princesses and princes, Morris Costumes had tonnes of stuff to buy.

Delphi looked at a clothing rack labelled “Shakespearean plays’ and instantly rushed towards it and starting flipping through the clothes that hung.

It was all good and cheerful for Delphi until she saw what she had never dreamt of ever. There, a few steps away from her stood Polly, not alone, but with Liana Cayle, another student from her class. Delphi couldn’t understand what Liana was doing with Polly, until she overheard their conversation.

“Obviously, this costume will be perfect for playing Juliet!” Liana grinned.

“And this one is amazing, look!” Polly handed Liana a white frill dress with embellishments, “It’s perfect for Cordelia’s character!”

“Yeah! But, did you get the scripts from Delphi’s house? I feel bad about it. I hope she doesn’t know about this yet,” Liana looked at Polly slyly.

“Not yet. What can I do if I don’t want to perform with her but with you. I know she would never let me do so. I have my preferences and I do as it pleases me,” Polly said while still looking at the dress.

“But I think you should have told her; it will literally shock her!” Liana showed some concern.

“Oh, come on! Let’s not spoil the mood. Choose this costume, it looks perfect on you. By the way, I’m going over to her place this Saturday. I will take the script and come over to your place so we can rehearse together!” Polly said firmly.

Liana remained silent and nodded in affirmation. The two girls then continued shopping.

Tears rolled down Delphi’s cheeks, staining her clothes. Her heart throbbed faster than ever, with her hands shaking like a withered leaf. She couldn’t believe her eyes and her ears.

“It… can’t… be,” she sobbed, her voice was numb and her throat felt dry like a desert.

“Honey, did you get your costu … oh my God! Delphi dear, what happened?” Delphi’s mother came from behind, her heart stopped as she saw Delphi crying in the corner.

“I want to go home, please,” Delphi grasped her mother’s hand and looked in her eyes with fear and terror.

“But, your ....”

“Please, mum!”

Delphi’s mother quickly took her daughter outside and carefully made her sit inside the car, then she got in her own seat. She looked at Delphi and asked her what the matter was.

With teary eyes and a trembling voice, Delphi spoke, “She broke my trust, mum! A trust that I had been counting on for ages! And she got rid of that trust by deceiving me!”

Mrs Willows realised that it was something to do with Polly, so she hugged Delphi and calmed her.

“I know it’s hard for you dear, but sometimes, we must be bold and stand strong to not let other people crush us.”

The next day, Delphi met Polly, and told her everything she saw at the shop. She told Polly how she had broken her trust and that she would never be there for her after what she had done. Polly tried to make false excuses, but Delphi was firm on her toes.

“Trust is like a paper. Once it’s crushed, it can’t be the same,” Delphi told Polly and walked away.

A year passed, Delphi made many friends, more sensible and honest girls and had moved on. This time, she was going to perform with her new best friend, Coral, and decided to go to the same shop with her to buy their costumes. It was all good, until they saw Polly crying in the corner.

When they asked her what the matter was, Polly broke down and narrated, “Liana deceived me! She’s performing with another girl and she has also copied my drama script!”

Delphi sighed and held Polly’s hand. She said gently, “Trust is like a paper. Once it’s crushed, it can’t be the same. I think you now know what I meant earlier.”

Published in Dawn, Young World, March 26th, 2022