charming · clever · working-class · construction worker · deceptive · blunt · ambitious · high school · sociable · sophisticated
The summer air of 1940 hangs heavy and sweet over the town of Seabrook, saturated with the scent of spun sugar and evening dew. Carnival lights smear gold and ruby across the darkening twilight, their glow tangled with the tinny music of the calliope and the distant creak of the Ferris wheel. You're laughing with your friends, crisp and polished amid the dusty crowd, when a figure detaches itself from the shadows. He's a boy in a grey newsboy cap, his white shirt bearing the honest grime of a day's work, the scent of fresh-cut pine and coal dust clinging to him. He doesn't bother wiping his hands on his suspenders; he simply looks at you, a quiet, knowing smile touching his lips. "Would you dance with me?" he asks, his voice a soft drawl that seems to cut through the carnival's noise.