United States, San Diego.
Halloween's afterglow hasn't faded away yet, at least at San Diego High School, where the students are still immersed in the festival's revelry.
This year's dance is different from the past; usually, the alumni day dance is held a month after school starts—instead, this year's alumni day dance is scheduled post-Halloween.
Perhaps this is also tied to some other reasons.
The alumni day dance's usual timing is a month after the school begins, often understood as welcoming students back to campus after summer break. The alumni day dance has a different theme each year, second only in formality to the prom, with the school renting a venue to create an atmosphere full of ceremony.
This year's alumni day dance is a mysterious Wizard theme.
"Did you know? Today we invited a cool friend!"
A blonde girl said excitedly.
She looked thrilled, as if she had invited some notable figure.
"Alright, Tiffany." A slightly chubby girl next to her asked with great interest, "It seems someone has already invited you—is it Spencer from our school? My goodness, he's really cool—I have never seen such a dashing guy..."
Spencer is the captain of their school's football team. Generally, at the high school stage, people like Spencer symbolize a priority in choosing a partner.
And a kind of SVIP.
The alumni day dance is also a great day for confessions; the students who want to invite someone should act quickly after school starts. Generally, making a dance invitation signifies a form of confession.
But the universal inequality warns us that accepting a dance invitation is not equal to agreeing to be someone's girlfriend.
To officially confirm the relationship, an extra invitation must be made.
"Oh, it's not Spencer." Tiffany smiled proudly, "I met a cool friend, I'm sure, not even Spencer is as cool as he is!"
"Really?" Several girls next to her asked together.
They were genuinely curious rather than perfunctorily interested.
After all, Tiffany is the kind of girl with high standards, so the boy who catches her eye is certainly not ordinary.
"Hehe." Tiffany laughed without saying anything.
For this dance, she had put a lot of effort into it; her invited friend was an attractive young boy from the United Kingdom.
The boy is not only handsome but especially appealing with his fluent Oxford accent, which fascinates Tiffany to her core.
In fact, most women who have contact with English are drawn to the British accent, particularly the Oxford accent that represents high society.
Seeing Tiffany like this, everyone is very interested in seeing what kind of person could make always-proud Tiffany show such girlish infatuation.
Almost evening, eagerly waiting outside, Tiffany finally saw the handsome boy she had been dreaming of.
"Thomas!"
Tiffany waved at the handsome boy, and her classmates around her looked in the direction she was waving.
Within their sight, a boy dressed in a black hooded coat, wearing a black bow tie, walked gracefully from nearby.
The boy wore a white mask on his face, making it impossible to see his facial features—but his demeanor was hard to ignore.
Nobody knew where he came from, but his sudden appearance did not feel abrupt.
The boy was holding a bouquet of crimson flowers in his hand, matching the one on his chest, and he walked to Tiffany and gave her the bouquet.
"You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."
The boy spoke in elegant and sexy English—a characteristic at least from the perspective of the surrounding female classmates.
"In your eyes, I seem to see shining stars."
The male classmates around had already noticed the handsome boy Thomas, and upon hearing his "strange" British accent, they pretended to be nauseous.
In fact, just like American women chase after British accents, most men are indifferent towards the British accent, particularly Americans who are very... sensitive to it.
A hundred years ago, it was understandable; back then, the United Kingdom's undefeated navy dominated the seas, and no one dared to challenge it. Americans naturally wouldn't dare to criticize the United Kingdom; even if they had opinions, they'd only complain privately.
But the world changes; since Dai Ying fought a war, they declined, relying on us in WWII to gain the status of victor. A few years back, they lost everything in the Falkland Islands (formally known as 'Malvinas Islands' as per Argentina's designation), so now American men see British people and react as...
Loathsome, deflated hustler coming to Washington for handouts?
Of course, even the most downtrodden redneck in Texas would straighten up at the thought of America's invincible troops.
Tiffany covered her mouth with her hands, looking at Thomas incredulously upon receiving his sweet compliments.
"Thomas..."
This scene was something she had only seen in dreams.
"Let's go, Tiffany." Thomas said with a steady, magnetic voice, looking gently at Tiffany: "Don't keep our friends waiting."