Growing up with a brother or sister is a blessing. But there is a phase in life where siblings can’t stand each other. In this story, a big brother’s silly prank just proves to everyone how much he cares for his younger brother.
Source: Give It Love
These brothers prove that they have a different and special kind of bond through a special prank that the older brother started. Their closeness has made international news and touched the hearts of people around the world.
Meet Max and Noah
Max and Noah Tingle are brothers with a five-year gap – Noah is 17 while Max is 12 years old. When Noah started his senior year of high school, he knew that this would be the last year he gets to spend some time with Max before he has to leave for college.
Source: The Bus Brother via Facebook
Noah wanted to make his last year around to be an extra special one for his brother. Noah realized that he was already home by the time Max gets off his school bus. During the first day of school, Noah ran outside to greet his baby brother as he got off the bus.
Started with Santa
It was a pleasant surprise so he decided to do something creative and get his brother’s attention. The next day, he decided to do the same thing dressed up in a Santa Claus outfit. It definitely embarrassed Max, as Christmas was still months away and he ran away to avoid Noah’s hugs.
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They both had a blast with it and their friends and family loved the video. So, Noah decided to dress up in different costumes every day and run out of the house to greet Max in front of everyone when the bus drops him off.
Rain or shine
Every single school day of that school year, you can count on Noah to be standing on the front porch waiting for the school bus to arrive. And this happened rain or shine. A rainy afternoon will not stop Noah from his costume-wearing antics.
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Fortunately, he had a fluffy bodysuit as a costume that would keep him warm as he ran out in the rain to get Max. That day, the two bolted together inside the house, arms around each other, and with big smiles on their face.
He wore different costumes
Noah is definitely committed to seeing this prank through. Even if it meant dressing in the most ridiculous costumes just like this one. Here, you can see Noah dressed up as one of those inflatable tube mascots that car dealerships usually use to get attention.
Source: Give It Love
To bring the costume to life, Noah had to wobble and bend like them as well. It was a great way for Max to learn that he should be able to make fun of himself because there will be a lot of embarrassing moments once you enter your teenage years.
Going viral
Fortunately, the whole thing was documented since day 1. Noah would take a picture each day and ask their Mom to take a video as he steps out of the house to get Max from the bus. Everything can be found on the Facebook Page “The Bus Brother.”
Source: Pixabay
It did not take long for the short videos to go viral. Noah started posting on August 24 and in just a few weeks, The Bus Brother Facebook paged had over 13,000 followers. People were starting to invest in the Tingle brothers and their special relationship.
The videos were a hit
The Facebook page became popular as everyone found Noah’s antics and costumes amusing. Their mom even joined in on the costume-wearing from time to time. People started donating costumes to them to help keep Noah’s daily charade going.
Source: Give It Love
You can see by the short videos how Max would react to Noah’s costumes. Sometimes he would step off the bus with a big smile already on his face and sometimes he would cover his face in shame. It was all very endearing to watch.
Playful tackling
And just like most boys, Noah and Max like to express their fondness for each other by doing some playful fighting like pushing, shoving, and even tackling each other. Noah will sometimes come running out of the house towards the bus to tackle Max.
Source: Give It Love
Max would also try to avoid Noah sometimes so Noah would have to chase him inside the house. But often, Noah will pull Max in for a big bear hug and they would come into the house hanging on to each other.
Small but energetic
On some days, Max would have an advantage over Noah. Here, he was able to leap into Noah’s arms and almost knocked off the head part of Noah’s sloth costume. Max may be significantly small standing next to Noah but he is full of energy.
Source: Give It Love
It was fun trying to see the two brothers tackle each other every day. Noah would come running out of the house to get Max from the bus and Max would try to escape his brother or fight back despite his smaller size. Who knows, one day Max will outgrow Noah.
International coverage
Things picked up so fast that by Noah’s 12th costume some paparazzi and media men were hanging around to capture everything in action. The local news station, WAFB, came over to their place.
Source: Give It Love
International news outlets like NBC, CBS, and Fox also gave the Tingle brothers a visit. The Bus Brother later made a post asking people where they heard their story and at which station. Based on the comments, it was clear that they have gone international.
Self-conscious and shy
You could tell the first few times that Noah would feel awkward and conscious as the reporters interviewed him. He even tried to play it cool when Max arrived for the first time. Even Max acted aloof when he realized there were other people around.
Source: Give It Love
It can be agreed that the brothers were most playful and in their element when there were no other cameras around. The brothers were like playful bear cubs. You can see that they are very comfortable with each other, proving to everyone what a special brotherhood they share.
Local celebrities
The whole thing made Noah so popular that some people would ask to take a photo with him when he was out in town. Despite the unexpected and sudden fame, Noah strived to be humble. It was as if he was Louisiana’s mini-celebrity.
Source: Give It Love
He and Max made a video to thank everyone for their love and support. In the video, Noah said that everything was an unbelievable experience. He also thanked everyone who donated his costumes and expressed his excitement about wearing them.
It started as a prank
“It’s my last year of high school and I saw he was coming off the bus when I was at home, so I wanted to embarrass him.” Noah shared how the whole thing started in one of the interviews. And Max did feel embarrassed at first.
Source: Give It Love
But as the days passed, Max has gotten used to his big brother’s silliness. He finds everything cool now. Noah’s antics also gave everyone else on the school bus a treat. Those who ride on Max’s school bus were looking forward to his stop because of Noah.
A special bond
It was clear that the Tingle brothers do not just share a special bond – they also share the same smile. And you can easily spot it when you see Noah and Max facing each other from the side. It looks like an older boy is smiling at his younger self.
Source: Give It Love
Noah told news reporters that he hopes the costumes he wore will imprint a lot of fond memories for Max. This was important to Noah because they will be apart for some time when he leaves for college. With Noah gone, Max would be an “only child” at home.
A unique brotherhood
People admired him for this show of sibling love – which is spectacular to see coming from a teenage boy. The brothers were only five years apart in age but their current stages in life at the moment Noah decided to do this prank could mean they were living different worlds.
Source: Give It Love
Noah was about to leave high school by the end of the school year and Max was about to enter it. You can easily tell they also look different physically as Noah is definitely bigger and has developed more physically too.
Sibling love
Everyone can tell that Noah was sincere in his wanting to leave a positive impression on Max before he goes off to college. And maybe, Max also reminds Noah of being young now that he was facing adulthood. They gave each other the right balance in their current phases in life.
Source: The Bus Brother via Facebook
But these differences did not matter to the Tingle brothers. And they are not afraid to show the whole world how close they really are. It is a pretty interesting sibling love because people their age usually do not display that much closeness.
A great show of love and effort
Max is lucky to have a brother who cares a lot and wants to leave him with good memories before he leaves for college. You could see parents wishing their kids were this close or other people wishing they shared a special bond with their siblings.
Source: Give It Love
Everything may have started as a way to tease and embarrass Max. But as time passed, it became a heartfelt bonding time between the two brothers. People all over the world fell in love with Noah’s efforts for his little brother.
The fun had to stop
Noah graduated later from his senior year in May of 2020. This was the year when the whole pandemic started. And because of the lockdown, Noah was not able to fulfill his plan to greet Max in costume until the end of the school year.
Source: Give It Love
There were no more face-to-face classes and there were no more school bus rides. Noah himself was not able to have a graduation ceremony. But he was able to get his cap and gown and posted a picture of him wearing it.
Warm welcome
In an interview with USA Today, Noah said that he did everything “Knowing I’m going to college next year and won’t see him daily, I thought this would make things memorable and strengthen our bond as brothers.”
Source: Give It Love
The fast-growing popularity and how they have garnered a lot of fans actually made sense. Noah represents the joyful warmth we all look forward to when we arrive home after a long day. His silly costumes add an extra “welcome home” vibe for Max when he arrives home.
Looking forward
Today, the Bus Brother Facebook page has been posting less with Noah now off to college. Max also has joined his high school basketball team and this took up most of his time after school. Their mom took over the Facebook page and posted updates about the two brothers from time to time.
Source: Give It Love
Despite the lesser posts, you can tell that the Bus Brother still get some interaction and numerous comments whenever their mom posts an update on the two, which shows how invested their fans really are. Who knows, maybe they can team up again later and entertain the public once more