Talk
about machine intelligence. Eleanor shrugged her shoulders.
The contrast between Eleanor and her husband was striking.
While
Eleanor had double clicked on the panic buttons, her husband
Albert had switched on to domestic crisis management mode.
There he was, sipping his mug of tea leisurely and giving
the entire arena of the living room a sweeping wide ear
to ear grin as though raising a toast to a historical moment.
Irritated,
Eleanor let off an exasperated sigh, provoked to a point
beyond tolerance. She felt Cecilia was overdoing her role
of being the sports captain - in charge of the two divisions
in her class. Celicia was an extra responsible kid - the
kind who would actually be any parent's delight. She took
her studies and sports seriously.
"
Celia, Baby! ", Eleanor said as patiently and as sweetly
as she could. Reality did a quick U turn jog in her head.
She distinctly remembered seeing the mascot..." What happened
to the mascot that you and all your friends were busy making?
" " Mom, Jo's dog shredded it ".
Mrs.
Jones wondered how a miniature poodle could be so strong
as to attack a hurly, burly mascot that had been painfully
stitched over a 4 week period by a team of 8 kids.
"
Are you telling me, Fangs is the culprit ".
"
No, Mom, not Fangs, It was Fang's friend ".
"
Who on earth is Fang's friend?" queried Eleanor.
"Pixie
".
"Ah!
So, why did you mention Fang's name then? ".
Well,
he showed Pixie the hiding place?
She
knew Pixie well - a strong, sturdy Dalmatian. Yes, he was
quite capable of doing this.
"Mom,
we need a new mascot! need, need a new mascot NOW! ".
Her
daughter's words whirred into her head.
Eleanor
thought to herself...but...this had to happen...just when
she was flooded with mountain high piles of work...just
when Albert had urgent seminar preparation work to do...when
there were mountain loads of house cleaning work to be done.
Meanwhile,
from behind the bean bag, over the cupboard top and from
under the table - 6 pairs of eyes - had halted - holding
their breath and stopping almost in midtrack to watch Albert,
Eleanor and Cecilia curiously.
Buster
- the aggressive rose ringed parakeet started flapping his
wings excitedly and called out..." Good news! Good news!
Urgently needed! One new mascot ".
Coral!
the regal looking Persian paused in the act of grooming
herself.
Zoomie,
the cocker spaniel started flapping his ears and generally
jumping around and giving everyone an extra large dose of
cloying affection.
"There's
Zoomie again, up to his doggy act ", screeched Buster.
That's
when the big Thought struck Eleanor.
"Why
don't you get a live mascot?"
"What
are you saying, Mom take a live mascot?
Every
body takes around mascots made of soft toys...
"There's
always a first time! Celia. You'll make history! ".
"You
will be the first person in the history of your school,
in the history of this district to have a live mascot, may
be even the history of our country! Just think about it
".
Cecilia's
eyes shone! Bright as buttons. Eleanor's statement had set
off a great, big desire in Cecilia's heart.
"But,
Mom, none of our pets can ever be a good mascot ", proclaimed
Cecilia with a tone of definitive authority.
Zoomies's
tail drooped, his eyes remained stuck to the floor and he
stopped jumping around. Buster screeched sadly, all the
while exclaiming, " Very sad, no quality mascots here. Very,
very sad" and Coral returned to her face washing schedule.
"What
is wrong with Buster? As far as I can see he makes a delightful
mascot ", asked Albert.
"But,
Dad "sighed Celia as only the very young can do when exasperated
beyond measure." Buster loves to pull girl's hair clips
and boy's shoelaces and even if there's a crowd of more
than 100, he'll do it in a jiffy".
"What
about Zoomie? He's everything one would want in a mascot",
said Eleanor brightly.
"No,
Mom, Zoomie loves food. On the sports grounds, instead of
standing on the dais, he will be pigging it out in the canteen,
begging for wafers, chocolates and ice-creams".
"Mum,
I think I will just call up Patricia and Melanie and ask
whether their pets would fit the mascot's role".
Just
as she was about to dial, her eyes spotted Coral - seated
in a royal pose - and right next to the telephone and looking
up at her appealingly.
"Mom!
Mom! "Celia yelled." I know what - it's Coral. It's got
to be Coral. She's not scared of people or big crowds, or
even stages, microphones or loud music. And she listens
to every word I say. She will sit like a queen - regally!
"
It
was well past six in the evening. Now Cecilia had to just
confirm that her choice of mascot was okay with the gang.
