MEDFORD, MA—After arriving early for a coworker's party Friday evening and wishing to avoid an awkward entrance, 29-year-old Scott Harrington reportedly devised a plan to walk back and forth along the residential street for 10 additional minutes. "I guess I could sit in my car and listen to the radio, but it would be weird if someone saw me doing that," Harrington said to himself before outlining a strategy to wander slowly over to the convenience store on the corner, stare at a few food items he has no intention of purchasing, and then wander slowly out. "If that doesn't kill enough time, I'll just go through my cell phone and delete old text messages for a while." After eight minutes of meandering to a nearby playground and back, Harrington is expected to stand silently on a neighbor's lawn.