078 Story

In no time, I was filling my pockets with sweets.

"You know, my eldest sister is mom's favourite. My eldest sister's favourite is Chocolate with almonds." I said to the girls.

Within seconds, they bought two packets of chocolates with almonds in it. The uncle, in charge of the canteen, was glaring at me. He probably knew the truth. I ignored him.

"What are you doing?" A loud shout filled the canteen.

Time to run. I ran and crawled under a table.

"That... we were just buying some chocolate for your son." The bravest among the girls answered.

From under the table, I could see the girls shivering like leaves. They were scared of Jeemma.

"Did he say he is my son?"

"Yes."

"... Don't ever do something like this unless you want to lose your internship," Jeemma warned the girls. They nodded in unison.

"Come out." She ordered me.

"No need. I am comfortable here." I answered Jeemma.

"Come out right now. I don't have the whole day to waste." I could hear her voice getting angrier.

"Jeemma can go and do your job. I will come out on my own when I am bored." I answered sincerely.

"You... drag him out," Jeemma ordered one of the girls.

"But... But I studied accountancy." She replied.

I was impressed by the dumbness of the girl.

Fortunately for her, her friends weren't so dumb. One of them reached under the table.

"Go away..." I tried to kick her away.

But she still grabbed my leg and dragged me out.

"Hihihi... Jeemma, you know, you look even more beautiful when .... Ahhhh..." I wanted to calm her down a bit before she punished me. But she completely ignored me and spanked me in front of everyone.

"Go to my office." She ordered after she hit my bum with her hand. She also took all the chocolates I got.

It was a light slap. It didn't hurt that much. But it was still embarrassing to get spanked in front of everyone.

Mom doesn't punish us in front of the public or guests. She would wait for everyone to leave before punishing us. But Jeemma is different. If we misbehave, we would be punished on the spot.

I walked to her office. I didn't look at the employees. I decided not to talk to Jeemma for some time. I walked to the corner. I wanted to sit silently in the corner and make Jeemma feel bad for me.

"Come here." She grabbed me and took me to the table.

"Let go of me. I am not talking to you." I protested.

"You don't have to talk. I just want something to hug." Jeemma replied.

"Then I will buy you a teddy bear."

"Really? I want one as big as you."

"Ok." I agreed.

"Good boy. Even my husband never bought me a teddy bear." Jemma grumbled.

Wait... I am angry at her. How did I end up promising her a teddy bear?

This is another difference between Jeemma and Mom. If I was fighting with Mom, she would let me protest and give me enough room to fight her. But with Jeemma, I don't even have the liberty to fight properly.

In a few seconds, we were talking again. I gave up on fighting. I sat on her table and talked to her. She wanted to know about my class and new friends. She wanted to hear about the little ones' first week at school. She even made me sing the rhymes the teacher taught us.

After some time, we were interrupted by the girls.

"Sorry. We didn't know he was not your son." One of the girls apologized.

"He is my son. Just don't do something like this again. Don't ever give any gifts to your superiors or their family unless it is an occasion. Otherwise, you will not even know why you lost your job." Jeemma didn't scold them any more and sent them out.

"Why can't I keep the chocolate they gave me?" I finally asked.

"Achu, if you accept a gift from one of them, then others will be pressured to give us gifts. But they are not rich. They will waste their money on buying us gifts. So don't ever let your employees give any gift to you. Also, if you take their gifts, you will feel indebted to them. You should never owe your employees anything. Instead, they should be the ones feeling indebted." Jeemma lectured me.

I nodded. I understood her logic.

"Forget it. What am I telling to a four-year-old." Jeemma said waving her hand in the air.

"I am tired. Tell me a story." Jeemma said.

"A story?"

"Yes. Your appa said that you read a lot. So tell me one of the stories you read."

"I don't remember any story I read. But I can tell you a  story I made."

"A story you made?"

"Yes." I nodded.

"Then tell me."

"The fox and the chicken were best friends."

"Chicken and fox?"

"Yes."

"Then?"

"They started a business together. They opened a shop to sell eggs."

"Chicken eggs?"

"Does foxes lay eggs?"

"No."

"Yes. They were selling chicken eggs. Just listen and don't ask questions." I was angry that Jeemma was interrupting.

"Ok. Continue." She replied with a smile.

"But the fox was sly. He secretly took some eggs home. He wanted to hatch the eggs. That way he will have more chicken at home and he can sell more  eggs and make lots of money."

"Hahaha.... That is a good move."

"But he failed."

"Why?"

"Because... when the eggs hatched, little foxes came out."

".... HA HA HA..." It took her a few seconds to understand the story. But once she understood it, she laughed out aloud. She laughed so hard that tears started coming out of her eyes. She even hit the table with her palm multiple times.

The employees were all craning their necks curiously. They had probably never seen their boss laughing like this.

Let me tell you the truth. This was indeed a story I made. But I made it in my previous life. When I was a young teenager, this was a 'double meaning' story I made. While it would look like an innocent children's story at first glance, anyone with an imaginative mind could easily identify the special relationship between the fox and the chicken.

"Did... did you tell the story to your iyamma?" She asked while struggling to control her laughter.

"No" I shook my head.

"Tell it to her."

I nodded.

She continued laughing.

I was happy too.

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