When people see me walking down the street, it’s no surprise that I turn heads. I mean, as colorful as I am, it only makes sense that they would need to double-take. You see, I am not quite like other teenagers. I do not conform to the idea of “normal.” Far from it.

Hi. My name is Kathryn. Kathryn Elizabeth. But you can call me Katie. You might know me as the freak in the back of the classroom. You may have seen me walking down the halls, or maybe coming and going from my house. You might have caught me in the middle of an adventure with my family in Sioux Falls. Wherever you’ve seen me, I’m sure your reaction has always been the same.

Most people upon first seeing me recoil, confused as to how such a strange person came to be living in a town like Bridgewater. To be honest, even I don’t know the answer to that question. In truth, I’m actually not happy here. Though my appearance seems bright and colorful with a bit of an edge, the inside of me is as solid and cold as stone.

I’ve tried everything. Playing nice, being the rebel, trying to enjoy it… I even went as far as moving away. But nothing quite seems to help. I just can’t find my place here. It’s so painfully boring in this town, I often feel like I am going to scream. People around here don’t really like me, and it’s not very hard to see why. While I am a kind person, people don’t want to be associated with me, and that’s fine. I am a scary person; rejection is only to be expected.

In the midst of the struggle to find my place, however, I have found something that is so much better. It isn’t entirely fulfilling, and I often find myself craving something just a bit more… Entertaining. But it is mine and it is special. It is a him. It shocked me when I first found him. I figured it would be the same as always. We would meet, we would talk, we would do what we had to do, and that would be that. Back then, I was still semi-normal. I figured I didn’t really have anything against me; it’s just what I was used to. Wanna know how I found him?