Stalling (2)

Noah had pulled off the impossible so far—he'd stalled Liam and Ethan for way longer than he thought he could. But he wasn't safe yet.

After eating, after the ice cream, after everything, Liam was finally getting fed up.

"Alright, enough wasting time. Let's go back," Liam said, stretching as they walked out of the ice cream shop.

Noah's heart stopped. No, no, no! The setup isn't done yet!

Ethan yawned. "Yeah, we've been out long enough."

Noah clenched his fists. Think. Think!

"Wait!" he blurted.

Liam gave him a tired look. "Bro, again?"

Noah nodded frantically. "Yes! Uhh… I just remembered something! There's this… thing I wanted to check out!"

Liam narrowed his eyes. "What thing?"

Noah's brain stalled. "Uhhh… it's a surprise?"

Liam scoffed. "A surprise, huh? You suck at lying."

Ethan crossed his arms. "Is this another excuse to stall?"

Noah gulped. "…Yes?"

Liam groaned. "Bro. We've already eaten, walked around, and done a whole bunch of nothing. What else do you even wanna do?"

Noah racked his brain for ideas. Come on, think of something!

Then, it hit him.

"THE PARK!" he yelled.

Liam blinked. "…What?"

"We should go to the park!" Noah said, desperately trying to sound excited. "It's nice out today, and you know what they say—fresh air is good for your health!"

Liam stared at him. Then at Ethan. Then back at Noah.

"You really wanna go to the park?" Liam asked.

"Y-Yeah!"

Liam sighed. "Fine. Whatever. But this is the last thing. After this, we're going home."

Noah nodded rapidly. ' As long as I can keep this going, that's all that matters.'

The three of them strolled into the park, which was surprisingly crowded for the afternoon. Kids ran around playing tag, parents sat on benches chatting, and a few joggers passed by.

Liam stretched. "Alright, we're here. Now what?"

Noah blinked. Crap. I didn't think this far ahead.

"Uhh…" Noah looked around. His eyes landed on the pond. "How about we—uh—feed the ducks?"

Ethan squinted. "Feed the ducks?"

"Yeah! Ducks are cool, right?"

Liam gave him a blank stare. "Noah. Be honest. Have you ever fed a duck in your life?"

Noah hesitated. "…That's not important."

Liam facepalmed. "This is getting sad."

Ethan snorted. "Nah, I kinda wanna see him try."

And so, they walked over to the pond.

There was an old man sitting nearby, tossing breadcrumbs to the ducks.

Noah cleared his throat. "Excuse me, sir! Could I borrow some of your bread?"

The old man glanced at him. "You want… my bread?"

"Just a little!" Noah smiled awkwardly.

The old man stared at him for a long time. Then he reached into his bag and handed Noah a small piece of bread.

"Use it wisely," he said.

Noah nodded seriously. "I will."

Liam muttered, "What the hell is happening right now?"

Noah ignored him and tore off a tiny piece of bread. He threw it toward the water.

A duck swam toward it… then turned around and left.

Noah blinked.

Liam burst out laughing. "Bro, even the ducks don't wanna deal with you!"

Ethan was barely holding in his laughter. "That was the most depressing thing I've ever seen."

Noah groaned. "Stupid ungrateful duck."

The old man sighed. "You lack the spirit of a true feeder."

Liam laughed even harder.

---

After the duck disaster, Noah kept scrambling for ideas.

"We should… rent bikes!"

"Too much effort," Liam said.

"Let's play soccer with those kids over there!"

"You wanna get embarrassed by a bunch of 10-year-olds?" Ethan asked.

"Uh… let's just sit and appreciate nature?"

Liam glared at him. "Noah. If you don't come up with something better in the next five seconds, I'm leaving."

Noah's phone buzzed. A message!

Kevin: Returning from school, almost ready.Just a little longer.

Noah wanted to scream. 'A little longer?!'

He took a deep breath.' Fine. One more stalling attempt.'

"Okay, fine," Noah said. "How about this—we make a bet?"

Liam raised an eyebrow. "Go on."

Noah pointed at the jungle gym. "You climb to the top and balance on that bar for ten seconds. If you fall, you owe me ten bucks."

Liam smirked. "Easy money."

Ethan crossed his arms. "You're actually gonna do it?"

Liam cracked his knuckles. "Hell yeah."

Noah grinned. 'Perfect. This would buy at least a few more minutes.'

Liam climbed up easily and stood on the highest bar.

"Start counting!" he called out.

Noah counted, "One… two…"

Liam smirked. "Too easy."

Suddenly, a bird swooped past Liam's face.

"WHAT THE FU—"

Liam flailed, lost his balance, and crashed to the ground.

Noah and Ethan lost it.

Noah fell over laughing. "OH MY GOD!"

Ethan wheezed. "I—CAN'T—BREATHE!"

Liam groaned from the ground. "…I hate you guys."

Noah grinned. "Guess you owe me ten bucks."

Liam sat up. "I am NOT paying you."

Ethan wiped his eyes. "That was the greatest thing I've ever seen."

Noah checked his phone.

Kevin: All done. Bring them back now.

Noah sighed in relief. 'Finally.'

"Alright, we should probably head back now," Noah said casually.

Liam stood up, dusting himself off. "You're finally done stalling?"

Noah grinned. "Maybe."

Ethan shook his head. "You're the worst liar."

Liam stretched. "Alright, let's go."

Noah smirked. They had no idea what was waiting for them back home.