Mike Arram
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'At the end of chapter one I was not certain I cared much about Henry'. You're not the first reader to say that. 'Irritating' is one of the words most applied to him by other characters. But as someone once said, we love characters for their faults not their perfection. Glad you stuck with it.
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They were back in the well-upholstered environment of the Medwardine Public Library: well-upholstered, but not well-provided with books, which had been edged out by the multimedia resource centre. ‘Sorry, are you a member?’ asked the assistant. ‘No. But we’re just wanting to do some reference chasing for school,’ replied Henry. ‘And you wanted anything on the … 55th Regiment of Foot?’ ‘53rd.’ ‘The catalogue says we have three copies of the history.’ ‘Three? Great.
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‘Hey, Mark!’ ‘Hey, guys! Got any money?’ said Peters ‘How much is this gonna cost?’ responded Ed. ‘You can get by on a tenner for the evening. Or less. You don’t have to try to keep up with me.’ ‘That’s considerate,’ said Henry, a little ironically. Fortunately, irony was wasted on Mark Peters. Henry was not keen on this night out at the King William IV in Huntercombe. It was not one of his father’s parishes, fortunately, so there was little chance of it reflecting on his da
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East Hamme churchyard was a lot smaller than Trewern’s. The boys had leaned their bikes up in the south porch, and they were systematically exploring the gravestones. Henry had his father’s key to the church, if they wanted to go inside. Normally it was locked. The boys were very much at ease with each other. They had, after all, experienced the ultimate in intimacy. They were undoubtedly lovers. A smile flickered round the edge of Ed’s mouth every time his eyes caught Henry’s. Every now an
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You have a gift for reading a plot, t’bug.
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In form the next morning, the tutor group was sent into a mild state of perturbation when Ed Cornish came in breezily and sat next to Henry Atwood; even more so when it was observed that the two boys were laughing and joking together. The outsider and the Under 16s First XI hero had apparently made friends. Henry was astonished at how easily he slid into intimacy with the bigger lad. To begin with it turned out that Ed also was a strategy games addict, even more so than Henry, because he had a s
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Henry helped out in church on Sunday, providing Dad was at Trewern, and this Sunday at the ten o’clock eucharist, he was. So Henry togged up in a zipped alb, carried the cross in front of Dad and acted as server. Mum played the Victorian organ, rather well. The main congregation at Trewern was not bad for a country parish. There was a village primary school, and the Sunday school usually pulled in at least ten kids, so there was a scattering of young families amongst the grey heads. There were o
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Mum was a pushover with illness. Henry felt a bit of a heel exploiting her like this, but, as he explained to himself, he had no history so far of dodging school. But he would have died rather than go to school that Tuesday, and he had little compunction about lying. He waited till she was feathering around looking for car keys and her purse. ‘Mum?’ he said faintly. ‘Yes, Henry dear?’ ‘I’ve got this dreadful stomach ache, and I’ve just had a bad case of … y’know, the runs.’ ‘
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Vicar’s son, Henry Robert Atwood, has been landed in a public school in Shropshire and hates every moment of it, especially compulsory sports. But he attracts the attention of two boys, who between them will change his life for ever. One, Ed Cornish, is every gay boy’s dream. The other - another vicar’s son, Jehoiadah, handsome, seductive and, unfortunately, dead - is every boy’s nightmare.
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What is the point of nettles? Henry wondered to himself. You can make tea out of them, something in his mind replied, or at least I think so. Not that I’d have the first idea how to. And this amount of nettles. Well. Quite a few pots of the stuff here. There’s no getting through them either, not in shorts. Henry sat down at the foot of a tree and contemplated the large nettle-grown clearing blocking his way. He got out the folded map jammed in his back pocket. Beyond the clearing was Trewer
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Next up in the series ‘Henry in the Outfield’ a school story with spooks.... and cameos from Nathan and Justin. Thank you all for following.
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Nathan Underwood is an upper middle class boy who loves gardening, it’s his life’s work, but in the flower beds of Matt and Andy’s Highgate home, he encounters Justin Macavoy, street kid and petty criminal on day release. The shock of it means that neither boy will be the same ever again.
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‘How do I look, Nate?’ asked Justin. ‘You just love dressing up, you vain babe you.’ ‘Come on … how does it look?’ ‘Brilliant as usual, but not as fantastic as when you’ve got nothing on.’ Justin laughed and fixed the flower in Nathan’s buttonhole. They were in full morning dress. They were also very much in love. They kissed, then left their room hand-in-hand and went to find Matt or Andy. It was a glorious October day, the sun was shining and the older coupl
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Terry was not happy with Justin’s idea about meeting up with his father, but could hardly argue against it. He pointed out that everybody was now vulnerable, including the kids in the house. They could easily end up as hostages, even if Anson didn’t look upon them as targets. But Justin and Nathan came back fiercely saying they had lives to lead, and there was no way of knowing how long the house would be under siege. Finally, they compromised on Terry’s being allowed to drive Justin to Ealing t
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They continued to have a very good time in Rothenia, which Justin privately concluded he liked even better than the Caribbean. Matt and Andy did the great churches and castles. Tim and Peter disappeared into the nightlife of the Strelzen scene and slept all day, emerging heavy eyed and staggering in the late afternoon. ‘You been bit by Count Dracula here in Transylvania, ’ave you?’ Justin could not resist asking. Justin and Nathan for their part had a different sort of holiday, one that
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‘What, here?’ cried Justin. ‘We’re staying here? It’s an effin’ palace!’ ‘Yes,’ Matt replied, a little smugly, ‘we’re staying here and it is indeed a genuine palace. It belongs to a friend of ours.’ The rented BMW rumbled over the cobbles of Radhausplaz and under a big arch in the grand and rusticated frontage of an enormous house, which took up the biggest part of one side of the square. They emerged on to an inner courtyard, where a couple of other cars were parked. Natha
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June passed into July. Against everybody’s expectations, Justin’s determination not to smoke held firm. His temper was often foul as a result, but Nathan was more than willing to put up with it. He did start fighting back in his own way, however, refusing to be hurt by argument and making subversive comments, which as often as not defused the problem. They had a routine by now. They had become a permanent gardening team after Mr Anderson finally recognised the nature of the link between them
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A few days later, following Will’s return to his home in Strelzen, the interview happened. It was loads of fun. The boys posed for a photographer in the designer lounges of Matt’s house and in the summer garden. The only clothes they were talked out of were their shoes and socks. They even did a formal ‘family portrait’-style picture with Matt and Andy. Copies of the shots were all over Justin’s board. The next day a cloud settled over Highgate when Nathan and Justin had their first ser
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Justin and Matt arrived in the very early morning at the Highgate house. Justin felt as though he had truly come home when they hauled their many bags out of the taxi and into the hall. He now had more clothes than he knew how to deal with. Matt and he sorted through them. They were all clean, as the yacht’s laundry system was ruthless. You just had to drop a pair of socks and they were washed and pressed. After that experience, Matt wanted to get the question of dirty laundry in his own
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Justin stared narrowly at the shore as the boat curved into the harbour, slowed and stopped at a set of steps to the quay. The crewmen’s faces were blank, without their usual smiles, according to their orders. Justin climbed out on to the steps with every appearance of nervous reluctance. Andy came close behind him, guiding him with a hand on his arm. On the quay a Land Rover was waiting, with one of the Santa Barbara Peacher guys at the wheel, looking as mean as he was paid to do. ‘Can I
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LOL. Don’t think Terre Nouvelle had dogs, more’s the pity. But I know what you mean.
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Yes it has, on AD and CRV. This is a somewhat revised version
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In the morning, Justin found breakfast on the stern promenade. The choice of dishes offered was too much for a guy who only wanted a bowl of Cheerios. It took him a while to find something that looked like them amongst the gleaming steel and silver heaters, masses of platters and myriads of jugs laid out on the white-draped tables. In the end a smiling steward gave him a hand. He decided a cup of coffee would help get his day going, especially if he shovelled in the sugar for an extra buzz.
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A fortnight went by. The boys worked together daily, and Justin even went into Hornsey College with Nathan on his day releases. Hanging round the college coffee bar, he ran into one or two of his more clued-in former street mates, who barely recognised the new Justin but definitely approved. ‘Fuck me, Animal, you look like a million quid.’ ‘Yeah, I gone on the game. I’m a high-class rent boy now. I can recommend it. Wanna intro to me pimp?’ On weekends they swopped between
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Justin got the next issue of Hello and was disappointed. He finally found the photo in one of the gay magazines that Matt’s agent sent round, a new celeb glossy. There he was with Nathan, grinning, following Matt and Andy out of Poivre Vert. The caption identified them as an unknown gay teen couple and delicately implied that Matt and Andy were sleeping with them. ‘Bastards,’ he snarled, going off the idea of celebrity. Still, they did look hot. He blew the image up on Dave’s colour copi
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