William bit his lip. Because of the freak storm, he’d ended up fifty years in the future, but he’d been more nervous opening a Happy Meal box than realizing that fact. It had been decades—half a century!—yet all his focus was on food. He set the box on the bench and opened it all the way. The smell hit him so hard it made his mouth water, and his mind blanked out completely. Carefully, he reached inside and pulled out a small packet of fries. He looked at the guys with awe-filled eyes and picked up a single fry, the tips of his fingers trembling. William cautiously brought the fry to his lips and took a bite. Just like Max said—crispy and still warm, melting in his mouth. He closed his eyes, trying to focus on the sensation. He chewed for a full minute, his mind somewhere far, far away. Then, suddenly, he opened his eyes, laughed, and started slapping his thigh with his hand, squealing loud enough for the whole park to hear.

— “Unbelievable! I’ve never eaten anything this good in my life!” he grabbed his cheeks, blushed, and started stuffing his mouth with fries.

— “Just make sure you chew, man, or you’re gonna choke!” Max winced as William’s cheeks puffed out from all the food. It was a small, kids’ portion, but still, most people couldn’t cram it all in at once. Their new buddy nailed it. “Dude, are you a hamster or what?”

— “Yup,” William mumbled and swallowed. “Oh... I wish Noah could try this too! I hope, back in the seventies, he somehow gets the chance. We promised we’d go to McDonald’s together. Man... who would've thought it would turn out like this, right?”

William looked a bit down, and both guys, without a word, placed their hands on his shoulders.

— “Don’t worry, I bet your friend did get to try the fries! Imagine how many times over all these years! C’mon, you’ve still got Coke and a cheeseburger to try. And trust me... they’re just as good as the fries. I can eat like six of those things. Just... please don’t try to shove it all in your mouth at once! You don’t have hospital insurance…”

— “That’d be kinda funny, though…”

In the end, William was absolutely blown away by McDonald’s food. The Coke was sweeter, the meat tastier, and everything around him was bursting with colors and sensations. The guys could only watch and smile at his innocent reactions. They only had enough for the Happy Meal, and William finished it off in just a few minutes. Still mumbling to himself about Big Macs, he sat cross-legged on the bench with a happy smile, rocking side to side. Lucas sat next to him, placing his arms on the bench. Max leaned back too, relaxing. The weather was great—a warm, fresh evening. The blazing heat had passed.

— “We should really figure out what to do about William…” Max whispered, and William turned to him with a questioning look.

Lucas cracked one eye open, having dozed off a little in the evening calm.

— “Alright. Let’s keep things neutral. Lay it all out. William showed up outta nowhere. He’s got no papers, just got himself some underwear, no money. First thing’s first—we need to figure out how he’s gonna live in the 21st century. Whether he can go back in time or this is just a mass hallucination—whatever. We gotta plan for tomorrow.”

— “We need to understand how he even got here in the first place…” Lucas spoke so slowly, he might’ve been a hiding chameleon. “Maybe tomorrow he won’t even be on our old broken couch anymore?”

— “I doubt his showing up in swim trunks is tied to our old man,” Max smirked. “William, tell us more about how exactly you ended up here?”

— “Honestly, nothing too weird about it,” he stopped rocking and smiling, suddenly thoughtful. “It was all pretty normal. I started paddling toward a wave when it came close. The whole thing started with that strange green storm that hit that evening. I’ve never seen the sky turn colors like that. Noah tried to talk me out of it for a while, but I stood my ground. Dumbass me, thinking I could conquer the three-thousandth wave.”

— “The what now? That sounds like some kind of ritual or figure of speech. Noah was probably the smart one, trying to stop you,” Lucas chuckled.

— “Not really. When he couldn’t talk me out of it, he jumped in too,” William grinned wide. “Wait, you don’t know the legend?!” He looked at them in surprise. They both shook their heads. “On our island, there’s a legend. Exactly three thousand big waves crash around it from June first to August thirty-first. Big meaning over a meter tall. I don’t know where it came from or what it’s for. But the person who rides that final three-thousandth wave becomes a legend themselves!”

— “Or gets time-warped,” Max groaned.

— “That part wasn’t in the legend. My grandpa used to tell it all the time. Said only a few ever made it—including him. They tattoo the number three thousand on their shoulder and get respected all over town,” William said with pride in his voice. “Naturally, I wanted to be just as cool! And well, here I am… eating fries.”

— “A worthy addition to the Guinness Book of Records,” Lucas pressed his lips together and blinked. “So, what you’re saying is... you might be able to go back if you ride that three-thousandth wave again?”

— “Considering I traveled fifty years forward and got roasted for my outdated haircut... I’m not sure, Lucas,” William gave a forced smile. “But yeah... I guess it’s possible. I’ve got no better ideas.”

— “So there will be a ‘tomorrow,’” Max concluded their little talk. “Which means we need to get him a fake ID and a basic doc set, get him enrolled in school and—ideally—find him a part-time job. Our budget’s already busted thanks to COVID.”

— “COVID?” William repeated.

— “Yeah. It was a virus that started in 2019 and just recently ended—at least in Australia. A lot of us got it bad. I only just started smelling things again,” Max complained, and William clutched his chest. “We can’t leave you out of school or people’ll start asking questions. If our buddy…” Max glanced at grumpy Lucas, “can help get the school papers sorted, insurance’s gonna be trickier. Plus everything else. They’ll throw us in the psych ward if you go blabbing about time travel. So school it is…”

— “School there, school here… When do I get to ride my board?!” William protested. “I object!”

— “Welcome to the club, William,” Lucas patted his shoulder. “We could try surfing late at night…”

— “Or early in a wetsuit!” William jumped in excitedly, already showing his deep love for surfing. “And I’m not against working either. I worked back in the seventies. Gotta have my own cash, right? I doubt I’ll be able to stop myself from buying all these clothes, food, and cool stuff.”

— “Don’t forget rent, food, and bills,” Lucas reminded him. “We need to get you a phone… Gonna have to do some digging online.”

— “I’m gonna get a phone like Max’s?!” William bounced while Max clutched his phone protectively.

— “Something simpler,” Lucas offered. “But it’ll play music. Don’t worry. That’s basic nowadays.”

— “Ugh, William got fed, and now I’m about to start grazing like a goat,” Max groaned with his stomach. “Let’s hit the store and head home,” he looked at Lucas. “Did you ask Jessie for the fake docs?”

— “Already did, while you were whining,” Lucas started picking up William’s trash. “Gotta get a picture of him and send it in today. Come help me dump this stuff.”

— “Sure.”

— “Do you really need two people to throw away some wrappers?” William asked, but they were already walking off toward the nearest trash bin.

— “What are we gonna do?” Max whispered. “William’s a great guy. Doesn’t seem like a thief, and his story’s too ridiculous to be a con.”

— “What can we do? Let’s just keep an eye on him. He acts like a naïve kid, not some mafia member,” Lucas crumpled the trash. “And hey, he offered to help you fix the closet. That’s praiseworthy, Max. Let’s just tackle problems as they come. He’s got jeans and underwear, a place to sleep, and he’s willing to work. We could use the extra money, you know that.”

— “Yeah, William is a great guy… But did you hear his voice when he threatened Asher?” Max raised an eyebrow.

— “I couldn’t believe my ears… You thinking what I’m thinking?” Lucas asked. Max nodded, glancing at William with a stone-cold face.

While the guys walked off to talk, a surprise awaited William. Until now, he’d been focused on his new friends. But when they left him alone, he decided to check out the park. Bad idea. All it took was a glance and a slight squint—and there he was. The same guy from the mall.

He was lying there in a black tank top on a blanket, his jacket tossed beside him, eyes locked on William. A few meters away, three unknown guys tossed a football around, chatting. But William’s attention was locked on that jerk who clearly wasn’t going away. The guy didn’t even flinch when caught staring; instead, they started a staring contest. The time traveler licked his dry lips—and the other guy mirrored him. Yep, definitely watching him.

Asher’s expression screamed confidence—he knew he was hot, knew he was desirable. The black tank didn’t hide his toned arms and had ridden up just enough to show a sliver of soft skin at his waist. He leaned on his elbows, holding a picked daisy, black hair falling into his face, making his already sultry look even more intense. William swore the guy was undressing him with his eyes. No one had ever stared at him like that before. Refusing to be fazed, he leaned back on the bench, spread his arms across the backrest, and boldly spread his legs.

Asher’s eyes widened, tilting his head slightly and smirking just before Max and Lucas returned. William raised his brows in challenge and jerked his head.

— “What’s this performance with no audience, William?” Max teased, ruffling his hair. “Oh, we’re in for a showdown tonight, huh?”

— “I swear, I’m about to shave my head and drown in the ocean!” William hissed, still not over the staring match with Asher. “It’s getting late—let’s go buy some snacks and eat more at home!”

— “Yeah, like fries, oatmeal, and dry cereal with milk,” Lucas added. “We’re broke!”

— “Ooh! Milk!” William perked up. “Let’s get milk…”

Neither Max nor Lucas asked why he was so excited. They already knew—behind every one of his squeals was a weird story waiting to be told.