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Richie Tennyson

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  1. Richie Tennyson
    Thanks @Modified Cub - I really appreciate hearing your honest reaction. It’s true that this ending doesn’t offer much of a conventional resolution and I agree Richard gets a really rough deal in the romance department. It especially burns me up that Nicholas is the one who “gets the guy” despite everything he does 😤 But I’m so happy to hear that Harriet and the humour worked for you!
  2. Richie Tennyson
    Thanks so much for all your enthusiasm and encouragement throughout the story @drsawzall - and for coining Nicholas’s apt nickname that seems to have stuck Nicholas doesn’t explicitly explain (or even acknowledge) his “ghosting” periods - but I would definitely love to hear what you think about any sections on a reread.
  3. Richie Tennyson
    This is a fantastic comment, thanks so much @Philippe! And thanks for your comments throughout the story. I’m glad you enjoyed the “not all is what it seems at first” moments in the story. Thanks for reading and engaging so much!
  4. Richie Tennyson
    Thanks for all your comments @FanLit! They’ve been wonderful to receive, it means a lot that you have read and enjoyed it. Richard tolerated a lot from Nicholas - right up until the end - but as you say he’s in a better place now!
  5. Richie Tennyson
    I really like your take on this @zakynthos! Richard has a long way to go still. Maybe Low Expectations could be a sequel… Truly though thanks for reading and engaging with the story so much, it has been great to get your comments
  6. Richie Tennyson
    Hahaha I love it @jaysalmn - Richard wasted a lot of time on “Dickoless” for sure, but I’m glad you felt he’s reached a happy ending and, yes, the support system now is much greater than what he was focused on at the start
  7. Richie Tennyson
    Thanks for reading it @chris191070 It means a lot to me! And yes Richard and Harriet’s friendship is probably one of the happiest things to come out of the story
  8. Richie Tennyson
    Thanks so much for reading it @Charles26! I’m overjoyed you found it an unconventional delight to read - and I’m glad you liked the fizzling fireworks at the end. I definitely enjoyed coming up with them!
  9. Richie Tennyson
    Thanks so much @Summerabbacat for all the comments, thoughts and kind compliments throughout the story - very happy to know you enjoyed the humour too I’ve got another story published on my profile if you’re interested - https://gayauthors.org/story/richie-tennyson/happily-ever-after-ltd/
  10. Richie Tennyson
    Thanks so much @peter rietbergenfor the encouragement, wonderful compliments and predictions - it means a lot that you took the time to read it and that you enjoyed it
  11. Richie Tennyson
    When I wake up, the first thing I do is call Nicholas again. Still no answer. Then I call Harriet and tell her what happened. “I feel guilty,” I tell her. “Really, really guilty.” “Guilty?” Harriet exclaims. “You were trying to help. That’s far more than Darren Park deserved. You have nothing to feel guilty about.” “I should’ve covered up that graffiti on Friday afternoon,” I say. “But I didn’t. I thought, let people find out, it’s not my problem.” Saying it out lou
  12. Richie Tennyson

    Cruel

    Richie Tennyson posted new chapter in Self-Portraits

    The next Monday, Maggie has the baby. It’s three weeks early. I’m in Calculus when Dad texts me the news. After school, Vicky and I head to the hospital to meet our newborn half-sibling. But when we walk into the ward, it’s Mum standing next to Maggie’s hospital bed, holding the baby. Maggie looks like she’s been through a car wash but she’s smiling. The baby’s tiny, purple, squashed and asleep. “What are you doing here?” Vicky asks Mum. “Where’s Dad?” “He’s rushing around getting ev
  13. Richie Tennyson
    The next day, Vicky and I walk to school. We’re early enough to get cans of Red Bull. Harriet’s waiting for us by the gate. “Is Nicholas here yet?” Vicky asks. “Yep,” Harriet says. “I’ll hide Richard in the library before the first bell.” “I don’t need to hide from Nicholas,” I insist, but it falls on deaf ears. After all, this has also been enshrined in The Nicholas Plan: Whilst at school, make all efforts to minimise contact. Vicky hands me over to Harriet like I’m a ba
  14. Richie Tennyson
    The next day, Vicky and I walk to school. We’re early enough to get cans of Red Bull. Harriet’s waiting for us by the gate. “Is Nicholas here yet?” Vicky asks. “Yep,” Harriet says. “I’ll hide Richard in the library before the first bell.” “I don’t need to hide from Nicholas,” I insist, but it falls on deaf ears. After all, this has also been enshrined in The Nicholas Plan: Whilst at school, make all efforts to minimise contact. Vicky hands me over to Harriet like I’m a ba
  15. Richie Tennyson
    I stumble upstairs, fall into bed, and sleep until noon. Mum brings me coffee and toast on a tray. “Breakfast in bed for our brilliant Michelangelo!” “Michelangelo mostly painted murals,” I mumble. Mum’s put a little vase on the tray with flowers she’s picked from the garden. There’s a tiny beetle crawling up one of the stems. I burst into tears. I can’t remember the last time I cried in front of Mum. She puts the tray aside and I sob into her shoulder. Part of me t
  16. Richie Tennyson
    Just when I think the day can’t get any more surprising, I finally get a text message back from Nicholas. Hey, his message says, I’m so sorry we haven’t talked all week. The ball night was a terrible experience and it’s been a terrible week. I need a serious dose of normal. Can we please hang out this afternoon? I want to ask him a million things – and tell him a million more – but all I write back is, Yeah, of course He replies at once. Moxies in 30? Perfect I’m
  17. Richie Tennyson
    On Wednesday, Molly’s follow-up article is on the front page again, but thankfully it’s much shorter and at the bottom. The headline is School Stands by Anti-Gay Policy. It’s about Molly’s phone call with Mr Jane. I can practically hear the veins in his forehead pulsing whenever he’s quoted. These Year 11 and 12 social events have been part of Crampton Collegiate tradition for more than a century. It’s not a question of discriminating against anyone, it’s a simple question of gender balance
  18. Richie Tennyson
    When I wake up, I hope last night was a bad dream, but then I re-read the text I sent Nicholas at twenty minutes past nine last night. Hey! Where did you go? Still no reply. Harriet’s sent me a new message. How was it? I type It was fun. Then I change it to It wasn’t fun and send it. I go downstairs to messy house. The living room is littered with empty wine bottles and lipstick-rimmed glasses. There are sticky patches of spilled cocktail on the coffee table, the shelves, and t
  19. Richie Tennyson
    I’m the first one off the bus, right outside the front gates of Crampon Collegiate. A woman with big glasses comes marching up to me, holding a camera. “Are you the protestors?” “No – not me!” I panic. “I’m just meeting my friends here.” “Molly, hi!” Stu hops off the bus behind me. “You’re a legend, thanks so much for doing this.” “Oh, hi Stu.” She smiles. “Love the suit! Is this bus full? Wow. Which one’s the girl who organised it?” “This is her!” Vicky gets off th
  20. Richie Tennyson
    I go straight home after school on Friday. I look in the fridge for a cucumber so I can put slices over my eyes, but we don’t have one. Instead, I have the last strawberry yoghurt. Upstairs, I lay my suit out on my bed. Mum and Dad bought it for me for my sixteenth birthday. I lay out all my shirts next to it, trying to figure out which one will look the best. Definitely not maroon. On my phone, I look up what shirt to wear for school dance. After much deliberating, I decide to play
  21. Richie Tennyson
    On Sunday morning, I wake up inspired and determined. We’re off and we’re on, the Bad Hats song went, and when I say I love you, that’s when you’re gone. Nicholas and I have been off for a couple of weeks, but we’ll be back on next weekend. But this time, I’m not just going to sit around waiting for him to come to me. This time I’m going to be the hero of my own life and make it happen. So before I even go downstairs for breakfast, I get a pen and a notebook, and make a plan. There are sti
  22. Richie Tennyson
    I float through Friday on cloud nine. I smile at everyone. Most people don’t notice, but I get high fives from Chris and Dale. In English, I’m sticking my hand up more than Harriet to answer questions about David Copperfield’s early adulthood and I don’t care when Darren calls me a nerd. I’m even glad to see Mrs Hansen and thank her for her daft criticism of my attempt at drawing a live subject – the neighbour’s cat who was sleeping on our lawn. “Where’s the feline’s power?” she asks. “Eve
  23. Richie Tennyson
    The next day at school, everyone is talking about the Year 11 Ball. The biggest piece of gossip is that Darren asked Lisa to go with him on Saturday night and she didn’t say yes. She said she’d think about it, but she’d already asked Nicholas, and so she was waiting for Nicholas to decide between her and Carrie. The second biggest piece of gossip is that Vicky and Stu have organised a meeting in protest of the boy-girl ticket rule. It’s today, after school, in the Year 11 common room
  24. Richie Tennyson
    On Monday, I realise that everyone has found out Stu’s secret. Only, it doesn’t seem to be a secret at all. Between my morning classes, I overhear Lisa telling Carrie that Stu was openly mentioning his ex-boyfriend at Lambchop Hill on the weekend. “He told me they were together for seven months,” Lisa says. “He said they were probably going to break up anyway, but obviously they had to when Stu’s family moved away.” “Did you see a photo of the guy?” Carrie asks. “No, but
  25. Richie Tennyson
    In the morning, Dad’s back in the kitchen. I guess Saturday breakfasts with Dad are part of our new separated-parent routine. At least Vicky is a lot less hostile this morning. She digs into Dad’s bacon and eggs with vigour, and gloats about her detentions. “I still don’t think it’s wise to make enemies of the faculty,” Mum says. “Yes,” Dad agrees. “You still have two and a half years there.” “It’s people like you who allowed the Nazis to rise to power,” Vicky says. She learnt
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