"Silly," Derek rubbed my head, "don't you know the three truths yet?"

I angrily shoved his hand off of my head and attempted to fix my ruffled hair, "I don't know why you would think I would know…" I glanced at him a moment than put my hands down and began walking away, "I don't even know you." It hadn't always been the truth, but it had become so ever since Derek learned who I was. My first freshman year of high school, I had spent the long school hours to myself, hidden in my own world behind a stack of books. I wasn't exactly the social butterfly, and like everyone else, Derek seemed to find no interest in me. I was just another student, another person.

I think it's been that way my whole life, even in elementary school there were constant parent conferences about my inability to communicate with others correctly. They thought I was autistic, but I know I'm not; I can tell people's emotions and understand others well, maybe better than most people. That wasn't the problem. For some reason I never found myself able to connect with others, I couldn't relate to their conversations or to their likes and interests. 'I'm my own person, I'm special that way.' My mother told me. But that wasn't true, people who are like what my mom thinks I am have many admirers and despite their lack of interest in other people, they always found themselves the center of attention. No, I was more with an interest in others and longing to belong, but with such a lack of talent or interesting qualities that I wasn't even the center of rumors.

Maybe life would have been easier if I was pretty, people exactly like me who are pretty always attract a lot of attention. But my hair is frizzy and thick, and my skin pale and covered in zits. I have a mega high metabolism too which makes me very thin despite my eating habits and gives me tiny boobs. I have no muscle. I am desperately near-sighted, and since my parents refuse to let me wear contacts, I'm stuck with huge thick glasses that no one would want. I'm not particularly smart either, so I end up at the bottom.

My explanation was that in heaven or wherever we start out, God had a huge box of good qualities. Beauty, intelligence, musical talent, strength, large breasts, thinness; and every person was given one, two, three, and sometimes more qualities, but no one person receiving all (so to make it far in an oddly twisted view). When I arrived God found nothing in the box. He tipped it over and tapped it but only dust fell. God looked shrugged and tossed me down to earth.

And so here I am, spending the summer after my 2nd year of high school, with no friends or activities. I had started my morning throwing on some random tacky clothes, with an appearance as bad as mine; wearing matching clothes wouldn't make help. My parents were out working and I walked a few blocks down to the park and sat on the bench to read, at least books didn't judge me. I was deep in a mystery novel, having read it in possible hopes of increasing my awareness to my surroundings, and I heard a noise. Jumped, and saw Derek.

"Well have you?" he asked.

I threw my book at him; it had no longer any use in my mind. "I told you I don't know you." Maybe he would leave, I started walking away, in the opposite direction of home, that way he couldn't track me to my house. I wouldn't bother normally, since no one would ever want to stalk me, but Derek gave me the creeps.

He ran up to me and handed me my book, "I go to your school remember?" I shook my head. "Wow you are stupid."

I stopped and turned to face him, "what the hell do you want?"

"I'm a rapist." He whispered in my ear.

I grinned, "I'm safe then."

He didn't seem confused by my answer, "so you don't know the three truths?"

"What three truths?" I looked Derek straight in the eye, he was starting to freak me out.

Derek looked me in my eyes as if searching for any sign of anything, "come tell me when you learn them, I can give you what you want." He turned and walked away.

"What three truths?" I called after him, I had become curious, and for some reason wished I knew what he was talking about, and maybe partly wished he had been a rapist. That was a disgusting thought, but raping me would mean he was attracted?

I looked down at my book and saw a business-card sticking out. I took it out and tossed it to the ground. The worst part was that I knew what he was talking about, but that realization was to be kept confidential and to myself. I wasn't an idiot to not know that Derek needed them. It was a tradeoff, my knowledge, for something, money maybe. The three truths were my equivalent. God gave me nothing, and Satan gave me the three truths and told me to keep them secret. If I keep them secret until my sixteenth birthday, I lose the memory of them and get one wish for each truth I've kept secret. But if I keep all three secret I get three wishes plus every gift in the box, I achieve perfection. But secrets are dangerous and friends cannot be trusted. Who knows what Derek wants with them? He might be God's spy, he might want me to make me admit just one secret. But it wouldn't be the first time it has happened.

In 7th grade I met my first friend, Anna, who I shared with all my secrets except those three, but she one day said my secrets were boring. I became scared when she said she wanted me to tell her the truth. It was code, she wanted to know the three truths. I never spoke to her again. We went to different high schools and sometimes I wonder if I was too scared, but I decided it didn't matter. If I could put up with my life until I was 16 which was this summer, the day before school started, a little more than two weeks from today, it would be worth it.

I pulled towards my house and stared at the clock, it was noon and I looked at the calendar, I crossed out each day, and circled my birthday. It wasn't unusual to be excited about ones 16th birthday. It was the day your life became better, it was literally true for me. I glanced at the clock again, twelve more hours till tomorrow. Seven more hours till I can sleep, sleeping early is enjoyable to me, time moves faster when you sleep, going to bed earlier means the next day comes faster, and my birthday comes sooner.

I made some cereal and sat in front of the TV prepared to waste the rest of the day. Images flashed across the screen and I sat dazed, some kiddies' cartoon was playing and I found no enjoyment in it. I found no point in it. Thirty minutes passed and a movie came on. It was half over when the doorbell rang. I ignored it, and continued to watch. The doorbell rang again and I turned off the TV and wondered if the people would leave. They didn't, and between rings the person knocked loudly. Finally I became annoyed and opened the door. Some girl, my same age stood there. Her eyes were wide and she ran into my home the instant I opened the door. Please Julia, help me! I was shocked that she knew my name, I never really fully understood the use of such trivial concepts such as names, but this girl knew mine, and the fact that she knew me, when I didn't recognize her was scary.

"What do you want?" I glared; this girl wore a miniskirt and tight, low cut tank-top. She was a hot slut and I wanted nothing to do with her kind, though I might possibly wish to be like her on my birthday (…the irony).

"I'm Julia! I'm you! I need to warn you!" she screamed waving her arms, "Don't…." her body faded instantly, vaporized by an unknown source. Sound went to silence, color to emptiness. For a moment I wondered if it had been my imagination. I knew it wasn't true, but I didn't care, maybe it was true. Maybe I really did imagine everything. But unlike the people of my mystery novels who would immediately take on the case. I preferred to shut the door, and head back to the living room to finish the movie. And I did just that.