Things that will 'never happen to me'...

[butterfly]

Fire, flood, car accident, other accident, homelessness, mistaken identity, getting involved in some form of criminal activity...

What else? I'm looking for a plotline. Something that she decides she has to keep a secret...

[Tundra]

Being kidnapped, getting pregnant, having a child who breaks the law horrendously, getting cancer, randomly getting famous.

... I'm not sure why anyone would keep the things in your list a secret (nor mine but they're along the same lines)

[AXJ]

Seems like the best ones of these are the ones most folks look down your nose at other people for: Developing a drug addiction, going to prison, becoming homeless, killing someone accidentally while driving (while talking on your cellphone or somesuch), getting an incurable STD like herpes or HIV, going on public assistance....

[MichaelB]

Se-

Dammit. AXJ. One of the biggest "that'll never happen to me" things aside from car crashes and unplanned pregnancies is sexual diseases, especially rare or particularly potent ones, like syphillis, lymphogranuloma venereum*, chancroid, herpes, gonorrhea, and so on.


Apart from what has already been mentioned, and continuing the list of genital nasties, I'd like to include sterility as an "it'll never happen to me" secret.


*Personally, I find a disease that has 'genital elephantiasis' in its list of potential symptoms to be the stuff of nightmares.

[Heywire]

I'd like to add miscarriages (in light of discussion in the pregnancy thread) as you're looking for things to be kept secret. Being the victim of a street crime like getting mugged or raped is also on the list.

[AXJ]

For anyone who is a particularly strong worker, getting fired can be a big one. You think, "They can't let me go; I'm too valuable, and I work harder than anyone else here." Aaand then you find out that sometimes that doesn't matter as much as being the boss's golf buddy. Or that not everyone else shares your high opinion of your work.

Having a family member or close friend who is caught doing something horribly wrong. eg, seems like every time the cops catch some guy distributing pedo stuff on the net, the news interviews their wives, kids, etc and they are always like, "no this is impossible, this had to be some sort of set-up, he would never do anything like that." That might work nicely with your story.

[MelancholyBliss]

I'd like to add miscarriages (in light of discussion in the pregnancy thread) as you're looking for things to be kept secret.

Or the biggest one associated with pregnancy: I'll never have an abortion.

[Bloodcider]

Being kidnapped, getting pregnant, having a child who breaks the law horrendously, getting cancer, randomly getting famous.

In that order?

[strawberry-tea]

Developing a mental illness. Aside from the aforementioned addiction.

[Dwiesel McAllister]

Maybe I'm just sick, but how about getting pregnant by a member of a supposedly-celibate member of the clergy, self-aborting, and rendering yourself sterile? Yeah, I'm sick. But I bet no one expects anything like that.

Getting involved in a gang, (bf as gang member) and witnessing a murder.

Infidelity

Allowing injustice to pass (bullying, sexual harassment, etc.) People always say they'd stick up for someone in that situation, but are usually too afraid to follow through. If someone died because of it, and your char. could have prevented it, she may want to keep that secret.

Attempted suicide

Failing a class

Losing a job

[Apocalypse Woman]

What about watching someone you know kill someone -- then covering up for him/her?