I was the poorest kid in school, so when a rich classmate, Zariah, invited me to her birthday party, I was thrilled. But after I left, I found a fancy makeup pouch in my bag that wasn’t mine. Before I could return it, Zariah’s mom accused me of stealing it. No one believed my explanation, and I became known as “the poor thief.”
Only one girl, Ananya, stayed by my side. Months later, I overheard Zariah bragging about putting the pouch in my bag as a joke. With Ananya’s help, we later caught her on video framing another girl the same way. The teacher finally confronted her, and classmates slowly stopped treating me like a criminal.
Life didn’t go back to normal, but I kept the real friends I made—and learned you don’t always need an apology to move on.
