The Courtyard
Just a small favour. — one side
An offer of help means different amounts of time to each person.
“Could you look after the stall?” The answer depends on which hour you heard.
You need to collect a replacement card reader. The shop is a ten-minute walk away, but there may be a queue. You ask Jo to watch the stall “for a bit”. You expect to be gone for about an hour and hope that will be all right.
No account. No countdown. You can change your mind.
Read the situation without playing
“Could you look after the stall?” The answer depends on which hour you heard.
You need to collect a replacement card reader. The shop is a ten-minute walk away, but there may be a queue. You ask Jo to watch the stall “for a bit”. You expect to be gone for about an hour and hope that will be all right.
Keep it light: “Back soon”
Jo agrees to the phrase, not the hour. When you are delayed, Jo has a bus to catch and no clear handover.
Ask for an hour and name the fallback
Jo can offer twenty minutes. You must find another person or close the stall before leaving; the larger request has become visible.
Close the stall for the errand
No favour is required. You lose some sales and keep responsibility for the gap yourself.
Take it into your day: Offer the part you can actually do, with a clear boundary and a plan for delay.
Check: Do both people know when the offer ends and what happens then?
A clear boundary cannot guarantee agreement or remove the other person’s disappointment.
Sources, story rules and useful reading
These situations and their consequences are written examples. The factory is a small authored model. Neither measures your personality or proves a learning effect.
Knowledge release: MHC-RPUB-20261011-9e4b62c5. Story edition: 1.0.0. Public links share the authored experience; your tool entries stay out of them.