I was losing people.

I had borrowed from many classmates. At some point, the atmosphere changed. Conversations became awkward. Some people avoided me. Some couldn’t even look me in the eye anymore.

I don’t blame them.

When trust breaks, distance follows.

And in the middle of all that, there was her.

We had grown close before everything fell apart. She cared about me. I cared about her too.

But when things got bad, I borrowed from her as well.

I promised to pay back soon.

I didn’t.

Weeks passed. I stopped picking calls — not just hers, but almost everyone’s.

One day she called a friend crying. She said she hadn’t eaten and just needed anything.

That moment still sits with me.

It wasn’t just about money anymore.

It was about responsibility.

It was about trust.

Eventually, I settled my debts. Slowly. Painfully.

But even after I fixed the financial mess, something had changed.

Some people were cordial — but never the same.

Some friendships never fully recovered.

And she?

She kept me at a distance.

That was when I truly understood:

You don’t know what you have until you lose it.

Throughout the rest of my time in school, I realized she was one of the best things that happened to me there.

And I lost her because of who I became during my worst season.