America: A Prodigy of Stereotypes

“An hour after dinner,” Liz said.

"Isn't that eight o'clock?" Li Qun said.

"When will it end?" Stephanie asked Harry beside her.

“Midnight,” Harry replied.

“Don’t worry, the teachers already notified the parents. They’ll come to pick us up after the ball,” Harry said to Stephanie.

"It's okay if your parents don't come to pick you up after the event. Just let us know, and the teachers will take us home themselves," Harry added.

Standing in the spotlight, old George congratulated the graduates on completing their high school studies. He held a small piece of paper in his hand, glancing at it every now and then.

As Li Qun and his friends ate, they listened to the speech by Vice Principal George. After the speech, continuous applause and the crisp sound of knives and forks hitting porcelain plates filled the banquet hall.

"The steak tastes great," Li Qun praised.

“The grape juice is just so-so; we should have been given red wine at this point,” Liz said to Liqun.

“Some people are almost eighteen, and drinking now would only cause trouble for the school,” Li Qun said with a smile to Liz.

"I didn't expect it to be a steak set meal; I thought it would be a buffet," Li Qun said.

“Buffets tend to waste food. They can’t prepare less food for us, they can only prepare more,” Liz said.

“I heard from others that other schools have chauffeured buses for their graduation balls, but our school makes us go our own way. Also, other schools start preparing for the balls in the morning, while we have to endure four classes in the morning,” Li Qun said.

“The head of the prom organizing committee is old George, and he’s showing us the style of proms he had when he was young,” Liz said.

Four people sat at a table, with two people who were dance partners sitting side by side. Peter and Gwen sat opposite Liz and Liz, while Harry and Stephanie sat at another table.

After finishing the appetizers, main courses, and desserts, most people left the table to chat and take photos with their dance partners and friends.

The photographer was the busiest person at the ball today.

"Luckily I didn't bring my camera," Peter remarked.

“We have cell phones, and cell phones can take pictures.” Li Qun took out his cell phone, held it up, and used the pixelated lens to take a blurry photo of himself and Liz.

Gwen and Peter sat there, both of them texting their families on their phones.

"How's Uncle George doing lately?" Peter looked up after sending the text message. He wanted to talk to Gwen about her policeman father.

“He’s getting promoted again; he has connections,” Gwen said.

What position is the next step up from police inspector?

“The police inspector is the head of the precinct; he oversees more than two hundred officers,” Gwen replied calmly.

"Wow!" Peter exclaimed in small surprise.

“Being a police chief isn’t easy. Do you know why my dad got promoted so easily? It’s because the position became vacant, and the person who used to be in that position died,” Gwen said.

“But there’s no news in the newspapers,” Peter said quietly.

"If this makes the newspapers, the New York Police Department will lose all face."

“I can’t tell you either,” Gwen said.

"What a pity," Li Qun said with regret.

When the music played by the orchestra in the banquet hall changed, the ball officially began, and the noise of conversation subsided.

The bolder students were the first to step onto the dance floor and begin to showcase their dance skills, while the less courageous students were encouraged by their teachers to join in.

The music alternates between fast and slow rhythms, and different people come and go on the dance floor, resting when they're tired and continuing when they're happy.

The final climax was a duet dance, with only two people on the dance floor: a prince and a princess.

The prince and princess were chosen by a live vote. Liqun and Peter secretly wrote down Harry and Stephanie's names, so that Gwen and Liz would vote for Harry and Stephanie.

Harry and Stephanie stood in the center of the dance floor, ready to perform their duet for everyone present.

"Talent show!" Li Qun and Peter applauded enthusiastically for Harry.

Chapter 313 Ben Parker and the Car

At midnight, the orchestra's music became peaceful, and white lights illuminated the entire banquet hall.

It's time to leave.

At the exit of the banquet hall, students hugged their teachers goodbye.

"Go straight home and be careful," Old George said to each student who said goodbye to him.

"You too."

Li Qun loosened his arms and expressed the same concern to the vice principal. The old man smiled and then hugged Liz, who was standing next to Li Qun.

Outside the hotel, cars blocked the road, and red and blue police lights flashed on the roadside.

The police car with flashing lights was driven by Gwen's father, George.

Almost every high school prom has some kind of accident, and George Stacy doesn't want these accidents to happen at her daughter's prom.

“Good evening, Uncle George,” Peter greeted.

Good evening, Peter.

“Let me see if my daughter can still walk normally,” George teased Peter.

“I didn’t step on Gwen even once tonight,” Peter explained, waving his hands frantically.

“Peter tried very hard,” Gwen added.

“Is my mission over for tonight?” Peter said.

“I hope you have sweet dreams tonight,” Gwen said to Peter.

Gwen opened the passenger door of the police car and got in. George Stacy got in, turned off the police lights, and drove Gwen home.

Peter searched through the chaotic traffic outside the hotel but couldn't find Uncle Ben's car.

Peter thought for a moment, realizing that Uncle Ben must have anticipated the chaos outside the hotel, and parked the car on another street.

Based on the nearby traffic conditions, Peter deduced Uncle Ben's parking spot.

Peter's phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket. He took it out and saw that it was Uncle Ben calling him.

Peter answered the phone, and Uncle Ben told Peter where his car was and asked him to come find him.

Just as he had deduced in his mind, Uncle Ben was indeed waiting in that spot.

……

Someone knocked on the car window, and Uncle Ben rolled it down.

A dark gun barrel pierced the car window, a pistol pointed at Uncle Ben's head.

"get off."

"get off!"

Uncle Ben didn't dare to move his head. He slowly opened the car door and moved out of the driver's seat.

Give me your wallet.

With a pistol pressed against his head, Uncle Ben carefully observed the gunman, then took his wallet out of his pocket and handed it to him.

The lighting wasn't very good from this spot, so the gunman's face wasn't very clear.

"very good."

The gunman struck Uncle Ben on the head, knocking him to the ground.

Uncle Ben cooperated fully; after being hit on the head, he immediately lay down on the ground without getting up, watching the gunman drive away.

Peter turned the corner and saw Uncle Ben lying on the side of the road. Uncle Ben's car drove away by itself.

Peter's mind went blank. He quickly ran to Uncle Ben and knelt down in front of him.

"Uncle Ben!!"

"Oh, it's Peter. I'm fine," Uncle Ben said calmly to Peter, nestled in his arms.

"I'm fine. I was just hit by that guy, but I wasn't shot."

Peter carefully examined Uncle Ben's body, and after confirming that Uncle Ben was not injured, he helped Uncle Ben up, his eyes filled with anger.

“I’m going to get the car back,” Peter said to Uncle Ben.

"What are you talking about, Peter?"

Peter took off his tuxedo jacket and handed it to Uncle Ben, then raised his hand and launched himself into the air with a web.

Uncle Ben froze, standing there motionless.

Peter knew that not wearing the Spider-Man suit risked revealing his identity to criminals, but he figured if he was quick enough to blindfold the robbers with spider silk first, he could steal Uncle Ben's car back.

A dark figure swung past like Tarzan among the skyscrapers of Manhattan.

The robbers were very familiar with the traffic in Manhattan; they knew exactly which roads were congested and which were clear at midnight.

However, he messed with the wrong person tonight.

There was a sudden thud on the roof, like something had hit it.

The robber didn't pay any attention.

It can't be Batman landing on the roof of the car.

Peter crouched on the roof of the car, pondering how to stop it.

Peter thought for three seconds and came up with a plan of action.

The first step was to pull the robber out of the driver's seat and tie him to a street lamp with a spider web.

The second step was for him to get into the car, take over driving, and drive the car back.

There is no third step.

Peter recalled Li Qun's rescue of someone at the subway station that afternoon. He knew he must not hesitate when deciding to act.

Peter took action.

The driver's side window wasn't rolled up, and Peter reached down from the roof to open the door.