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Characters

Enrique "Rickie" Vasquez

Enrique "Rickie" Vasquez does not fit into any one of the easily recognizable stereotypical character roles that are usually present in a television drama. He is homosexual, but that fact is merely a character trait, rather than simply a plot device. He wears eyeliner because he likes the way that it looks and he hangs out in the Girls Room a lot (but doesn't want a sex change). Despite his uniqueness, and at times because of it, it is very easy to relate to Rickie.
Rickie is very sensitive, empathetic, and a hopeless romantic. He always seems to be stuck in the middle of things, especially when his best friends, Angela and Rayanne, are mad at each other. He is extremely friendly, befriending people who do not like each other, such as Brian and Delia. Rickie seems to spend most of his time trying to protect Rayanne from self-destructing. Rickie once had a crush on Jordan and is still sort of interested in Cory. He admitted his homosexuality for the first time to Delia. He loses his voice when really nervous.
Rickie tends to get beaten up regularly, though he doesn't like to talk about it. Occasionally, his abuser was his uncle, whom he lived with and considered to be like a father. His uncle eventually kicked him out of the house and moved away without telling him or leaving a forwarding address. He subsequently spent Christmas homeless and then lived with the Chases for a while. Eventually, Rickie found a home living with Mr. Katimski.

Other

He's a devout Catholic, a great dancer, a southpaw, and a member of the drama club.
He's half Hispanic and half Black.
He knows a lot about sewing.
He hates being called "Enrique" and worries when Rayanne gets excited (it's dangerous).
He likes to see who had his books before him.
He has at least one dead grandmother, who calls him Enrique.

Quotes



"You don't get noticed. You blend in. Unlike me, who basically never will."

Rayanne: "A potential slut. Now where do people get that kind of idea about me?"
Rickie: "Research."

Rickie: "Okay, see, the Egyptians? They wore eyeliner to ward off evil spirits. They believed that if they outlined their eyes that the good spirits would spot them easier. I read it in a book. So that's why I tried it...the eyeliner, I mean."
Brian: "So, you believe in, like, evil spirits?"
Rickie: "Oh, no. I'm Catholic. Basically, I just like how it looks."
Brian: "Oh, okay. That kinda makes sense I guess."

Rickie: "Kyle was probably her Popular Jock phase. Now she's probably moving into her Awkward But Sensitive Guy phase."
Brian: "So, you're saying I'm, like, someone's phase?"
Rickie: "Hey. I wish I was."

"Did you ever try to protect someone so much that it, like, hurt?"

Cory: "It's just weird, you know, when you have a picture of how something's gonna be and it turns out completely different."
Rickie: "Yeah. It is weird."

Rickie: "The other half is, like, you know, the tough half."
Angela: "Which is?"
Rickie: "Which is, like, just... You know. That I belong nowhere, with no one. That I don't fit."

(on Jordan and Angela): "It is like the weirdest breakup in history."

Rickie: "What are you doing here?"
Brian: "'What am I doing here?' You, like, begged me to come."
Rickie: "Oh, oh, right, right. I had this fear that there would be like no audience. So I just started asking anyone."
Brian: "Oh, thank you. That really makes me feel wonderful."

Rickie: "Listen, when she starts singing, you can't talk. But, like, afterwards? Applaud, but not too much, but, like, sincerely."
Brian: "You're telling me how to applaud."
Rickie: "Oh, shut up, shut up. I'm sorry, I'm a little on edge. I gotta pray now."

Brian: Is, um...is Rayanne, I mean, does she, like...Is Angela, like...I mean, the thing is...
Rickie: Hey, hey, Brian. Could you, like, pick a sentence and go with it?

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“School is a battlefield for your heart.”

Angela Chase, Episode 1: "My So-Called Life (Pilot)"