Graeme

This is one of the most powerful first chapters I know. Normally, not giving a significant character a name indicates poor writing, but in this case it portrays Richie's anger and disgust so strongly that you can feel Richie's emotions dripping from the words. Every little thing he says, does, and thinks is seeped with his anger, so much so that the sorrow from the loss of his mother is almost lost at times. It's clear that the pain of the loss is being morphed into hate for his father...exactly like his mother told him not to do. 😢

This is one of my favourite stories by @Ronyx It is very powerful, with strong characters.

Please join us in congratulating Mike Arram on becoming GA's newest Classic Author! @Mike Arram has been writing and posting stories on the Internet for many years, and we're pleased to announce that he's now started to also post them here at Gay Authors. Mike Arram is the author of The Peacher stories, The Crown of Tassilo, as well as the first story he's posting here, Terre Nouvelle. Checking out Mike's bio, we learn that even as a child and then into adulthood, he has an amazing imagination to create worlds and characters to fulfill them. Some with a touch of royalty or pagentry, some with a touch of sci-fi, more than a few gay characters, it all adds to the escape that readers find themselves absorbed in. As Mike says, 'My characters live in that alternative place as well as in the alternative worlds.' Leave a note here to congratulate Mike Arram on his promotion, and then check out his stories here!

Gary recognised the risk of going to Shaun's house. It was smart of him to let his mother know where he was going, even if going there wasn't the most intelligent of things to do in the first place. But Gary understood Shaun more than we do. He clearly weighed up the risks and decided to go. There was something that told him that Shaun was probably not setting him up, and that he really did want to talk. It's not something that I would ever recommend to someone in Gary's situation, but it worked out in this case. As @Wesley8890 indicated, this is a great wrap up to the story. Thank you, @Ronyx

Peer pressure can be amazingly powerful when you're a teenager. I can understand, though not condone, why Shaun did what he did. In his own way, Josh fell to the same peer pressure in that bathroom after Gary was outed. It's the ones who resist peer pressure who can be the real heroes. Josh eventually came around and now it looks like Shaun may, too. The support that Gary received from Josh and co in the last chapter will help Shaun if he wants to try to return to being Gary's best friend. Shaun now knows that he won't be completely ostracised if he publicly supports Gary, but it's still not going to be easy for him.

If you ever check out my stories, you'll find that there's a Scott in almost every novel... Don't ask me why. It seems that whenever a need a male first name, "Scott" seems to be at the front of my mind. This is something I only noticed recently...

I started to wonder why Carl Hobson and Bobby Watson stood up for Gary, and then I started to wonder why I was wondering. We don't need to consider things like team loyalty as fellow basketball players, or whether Josh had spoken to them earlier to ask for their help as a reason for their actions. We don't even need to speculate as to whether there's someone else they know who's gay, like Josh does. The simplest reason for them to stand up for Gary was because it was the right thing to do. It can take courage to stand up for what's right, but that's a different discussion. Regardless of their reasons, Carl and Bobby showed that courage, and, along with Josh, taught the school a lesson in the process. Then I noticed the names: Hobson, Watson, Carson, and the bad guys, Hanson and Clayton. It seems that when he started writing, Ron has the same problem I did with coming up with names. I personally have to make a conscious effort to ensure all the female names in my stories don't end in 'a' because, for some reason, when I think of a girl's name, it usually ends in an 'a'...

There are two stories by Ron that stand out, in my opinion, because the plot is so different to most stories I read. They are Down a Darkened Path and A Delicate Situation. Both take us to places where we normally wouldn't go, and with Ron's great writing, we're drawn in and feel the emotions with the characters. Thanks, @Ronyx for sharing your stories with us I understand about taking hiatus after a traumatic event. I did, too, but came back after a couple of years. Take your time and write when you want to write -- being creative is something that should never be forced.

The ending prompted the thought that we haven't heard about Shaun for awhile, now. Is that good news or bad news? Is he willing to ignore Gary, or has he been planning something? I guess we'll find out in the next chapter...

Intriguing...but I think we're still in the early days. This is just the setup. Since there's been no new characters introduced, apart the girl that Jimmy met at the mall, I think the story is going to revolve around the interactions between Jack, Jimmy, Jeff (the Triple J's) and Tracy.

I agree with @Rndmrunner Josh isn't a bully, at least based on what we've read. As Todd explained, what he did was a reaction, not premeditated. Bullying can be done unthinkingly and unknowingly (think about casual homophobic comments made to someone who is in the closet), but it's premeditated. What Josh did is still unacceptable, but it was a mistake, not bullying. Bullying is a pattern of behaviour, and we haven't seen that pattern, just a one-off incident. If anything, Todd's comments indicate that Josh is very much not a bully. The behaviour of the other two guys, however, is probably bullying. What they said was premeditated and repeated. They didn't assault Gary physically, but they did verbally. So, even what they did was less than Josh, I am more inclined to call them bullies than Josh. On a completely different topic, one of the things that struck me is the very close relationship between Gary and his mother. Even though he comments mentally that they don't spend much time together, he thought it was cool that she was trying to be a matchmaker for him. That is so much not a typical teenage male reaction, and it shows that his relationship with his mother is much closer than most guys in his peer group.

Gary's finally come clean. From what's been said, and from how Todd has been acting, I'm wondering what's going on with Josh? It seems what he did was out of character, so why did he do it?

I'm glad that Josh feels remorse about what happened. The fact that he told Todd that night also indicates that the two brothers are close. I also like Josh's integrity in wanting to admit what he did, even though the consequences could be severe. I had the impression from Todd that it isn't their parents telling Josh to admit what he did; Josh seems to want to do it. That says a lot about his character.

Gary knows Josh, but I never had the impression they were friends. Teammates on the basketball team, yes, but not friends. So not knowing Josh has a brother isn't unrealistic.

If there's one 'good' thing about being outed, it's that the other gay guys in school now know who you are. I think it's pretty obvious that Todd is gay, but he's taking a big risk in coming forward, given what his brother did. All I can hope is that, as I said in last chapter's comments, that Josh is feeling remorse, because otherwise Todd is in a great deal of danger.

I'm concerned about Tracy's comment about school. When he said "If you're lucky, we won't be" in response to Jack's comment about being in the same classes, that tells me that Tracy's got some self-esteem issues. It sounds like he's expecting to be ostrasized, or worse. Given what little he said about why they moved, I'm guessing worse.... So, we have two characters, one we know has little in the way of friends, is hiding the fact he's gay, and the one friend he does have has just told him he doesn't want to hang around gay guys, and the other who is clearly afraid of social interaction and has probably has something bad happen to him where he previously lived. Can they help each other? Is this a story by Ronyx? I think we know the answers, but it's the journey that counts, and that's why I'm sitting back waiting patiently to see how the story unfolds.

Prosthetic limb made from Lego by man missing an arm. If nothing else, you have to give him marks for coolness, but that latest arm looks fantastic!

I understand why Gary's lying to everyone. I'm sure the people who he's lying to think it's because he's scared the person will do it again, or because of the classic 'don't tell the adults anything' stance. But he made it clear in his early thoughts that he's not saying anything because he doesn't believe it's Josh's fault. Gary started the fight, and that has consequences. What he's not seeing is that the response was out of proportion to his action. They went too far. I'm hoping we'll find out soon, but I wouldn't be surprised if Josh is the one filled with remorse. He's older and bigger than Gary, and hopefully a little more mature. I'm sure everyone at the school knows that Gary has been in the hospital for two days, and it looks like he'll be in there for a bit longer, too. It's also implied that the police have been at the school, questioning students. If Josh is feeling remorse, the police are probably the ones stopping him from telling Gary he's sorry, because if Josh said anything, it could result in him being arrested. Four short chapters, but there's already a lot of material for possible directions in which the story could go...

This is a great story. If you haven't read it, do so. It's certainly not a typical storyline.

I'm glad that Gary found the inner strength to hold his head up as he left the cafeteria. He's going to need that strength in the coming days...weeks...(but hopefully not months). With Josh being called out by name, I wondered if he was going to be an exception. I had the impression it was the other two who made the comments, but Gary messed up any chance of Josh being sympathetic or even neutral by attacking him. I understand why he did it, but attacking someone who hadn't done anything wasn't smart.

Given the story description, I can certainly see some interesting potential results. I'm looking forward to finding out what happens next! Thanks, @Ronyx

No comment, @Timothy M. but I promise I won't read them until I've written some more chapters.

The two most iconic images with respect to news reporting on the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras are the Dykes on Bikes that open the parade, and the guys in speedoes. Both are covered in almost all news reports about the parade. It would be hard for Deon to not be aware of them. Also, he probably watched some of the coverage of the parade the previous year, as that was soon after Jim had come out.. He certainly wouldn't have gone out of his way to avoid seeing it that year.

I remember keeping that distance. Unlike Gary, I never had a close friend; I just had acquaintenances. I never let anyone get that close to me. Gary has lost, at least for now, his close friend and has suddenly realised that's left him all alone. If/when others attack him for being different, there is no one he can trust to stand up for him. My hope is that he'll be surprised by who does stand up for him. Based on the story description, it probably won't be Shaun, but maybe there will be someone willing to step forward and take his place.

It's brief, but it's a strong start. We can feel the emotions, and that's the sign of good writing. I'm looking forward to the rest of the story