Mrs Anna and her famous pinboard

Mrs. Anna was sitting on her porch, sunbathing when the alarm rang. She got up and went inside her house. She took out the freshly baked cookies from the oven. 

Her blue velvet cookies were the talk of the town. No event or function in the neighbourhood was complete without her famous cookies. In fact, she had prepared this batch for her granddaughter, Ari, who was coming over from Leeds. Ari's parent couldn't tolerate her anymore, so they sent her to Mrs Anna as a punishment. 

Mrs Anna placed the fresh cookies in a blue jar and kept the blue jar in the cupboard. The cupboard stored different jars which had different flavours of cookies. The yellow jar had banana cookies, and the brown jar had chocolate cookies. She had meticulously categorised different flavours into different jars. 

She then went to her pinboard and checked baking cookies off her list. Ahh, the pinboard. It was her pride and most precious possession. She was in the habit of dividing her tasks into different categories: productive, pleasure and charity. She did so to be more efficient in her work. She used different coloured pins for different categories. 

The alarm rang again. Next on Mrs Anna to-do list was visiting Mr Ted and have lunch with him. 

Mr Ted was a retired military man who appreciated discipline as much as Mrs Ana. He lived opposite Mrs Anna. Most of the days, they had lunch together and played a game of chess later. 

Mrs Anna was crossing over to Tes's house with a broad smile and a casserole in her hands. That's when a skateboarder zoomed past her, almost tripping her off her feet. Luckily she didn't fall, but the casserole slipped from her hand and crashed into the ground. The food was spoiled. Mrs Anna abhorred the skater. When the skater didn't even stop to help Mrs Anna and apologise to her, it made her blood boil. 

With exasperated sighs, she entered Mr Ted's house. 

He asked her, "What happened?"

She showed him the spoiled casserole and said, "An irreverent girl happened!"

He asked her to take deep breaths and calm down. 

She sulked that she had carefully arranged the food items in the casserole, and the girl ruined it.

She said, "It wasn't always like this. In my days, no kid dared to disrespect me."

The kids and the students trembled as Mrs Anna walked into the John Ryland library. She took her place at the librarian's counter and sorted the latest applications based on their types and submission date. Mrs Anna then saw a pile of books on her desk and sighed. She put them on her trolley and arranged them on their respective shelves. Ever since she took charge of the library, no one ever had trouble finding the book they were searching for. Mrs Anna books according to their category and sub-category. 

Having arranged the books, she returned to her counter. She looked at her watch. It was time for her herbal tea. She was preparing the tea when she was interrupted by Lance's sneeze. She got up from the seat and handed Lance a red ticket. 

"What do I do with this ticket?" asked Lance."

"It's your punishment for making noise. You have to stay back and sort all the books on your own. You also have to prepare a summary on 'Irene Iddesleigh'"(Irene Iddesleigh is considered the most boring book.)

Lance made his most appealing smile, "Come on, Mrs Anna. It was just a sneeze. I know you can make an exception."

"I wish I could, kiddo. But you are in for the punishment. I know your type, Lance. You all think you are special, but guess what? Not in my library and not under my watch."

Lance said, "Alrig-'

Ted nudged her on the shoulder and said, "I take your silence as your acceptance of the apology."

He turned to the girl and said, "Thank you, Naomi, for dropping by, but be careful while skating from next time onwards."

Naomi exited the room and left behind a homemade cake. 

Mrs Anna said to Ted, "She was the same girl who had hit me."

He asked Mrs Anna, "It was an accident, An. Although, what had happened to you? The girl was so nicely apologising and even left you a cake."

"I am sorry. Flashbacks."

"Don't tell me they were from your old librarian days."

Mrs Anna avoided Ted's eyes.

He exerted, "An, you have to stop thinking about those old days. They aren't coming back. Your obsession with order isn't shared by many in today's world."

While serving the plates, she said, "I know. I know but let's talk about something else."

"Ok. So tell me, what's new?"

"Nothing much. Oh, yes. My granddaughter, Ari, is coming over to my house today. "

"The disobedient and crazy one?"

"Yeah. Ari's parents want me to straighten her out."

"Tough job, but don't you go all librarian on her."

"We will see-"

The sound of screeching tire interrupted them. Mrs Anna peered through the blinds. Someone was wildly driving a Porsche. 

Mrs Anna excused herself, "I am sorry, Ted. I have to leave our lunch midway. My granddaughter is before her due time."

"Is that Ari driving the Porsche?"

"Yes," she scoffed, " Apparently, someone thought that gifting her a Porsche would be a good idea," and left.

She walked up to the Porsche and knocked at its window. The driver rolled down the window. 

The driver exclaimed, "Oh, Grands, it is you!"

Mrs Anna said, "Yes. What are you doing here before your scheduled time?"

"Oh, I was in the Leeds suburb when I decided to push the accelerator and drive all the way to here. It was my home runaway."

"But you ran away from your home to where you were supposed to come. How can this be you running away from home?"

"Grands, don't ruin it. I ran away from home in an artistic sense. I defied them and reached here early."

"Does your parents know you left home early?"

"You may have to tell them that."

Mrs Anna sighed and said, "Alright. Carry your bags inside."

Mrs Anna informed Ari's parent of her early arrival. They were relieved to hear of the safe arrival of Ari, and at the same time, they were angry at her for taking off with the car without their permission. 

Mrs Anna informed Ari of her parent's reaction and showed Ari to her room. 

Ari exclaimed, "My room is so beautiful! and blocked her.

She said, " I had it built for you when you were born. I expected that you would visit me often once you grew up."

"It looks too neat for my taste."

She was going into the room with her shoes on when Mrs Anna stepped in and obstructed her. 

"Ari, while you are going to stay here, there are some ground rules. No stepping inside the rooms with your shoes on. You have to take them off. Secondly, you have to keep everything as they are. No misplacing things. Third, I expect you to follow the routine I have laid out for you in the pinboard by every second."

Ari gasped, and in a sarcastic tone, said, "That's it? I thought I was coming over to my Grand's house, not some prison."

"You better get used to it."

Mrs Anna showed Ari around her room. She instructed her to place her clothes in designated cupboards. She also guided her to sort different cloth items in different baskets according to their colour and laundry needs. The white garments went to the bamboo basket, dark coloured clothes in the wooden basket, and the soft coloured threads went into the plastic basket. The baskets had different compartments for t-shirts, pants and lingerie.

Mrs Anna then showed Ari the new pinboard that she had set up for her and explained how to use it effectively.

On seeing the pinboard, Ari commented, "Is red really for pleasure? If yes, then I don't see many red pins on your pinboard."

"Pleasure is just for distraction. What matters more is the productive work."

"Ok. Explain to me how doing laundry, watering plants and going to church is pleasurable. Don't you have any hobbies?"

Ari caught Mrs Anna off guard. "Yes, I have. I like to-"

"Leave it. Now, I know where my mom gets the dull personality from," and dashed into her room, slamming the door. 

Mrs Anna didn't mind Ari's behaviour and got on with her schedule. She returned to Ted's house and played a game of chess with him. She discussed with Ted about Ari over the game. 

She then returned to her house to check on Ari. Ari hadn't completed any assigned task as she hadn't unpinned any of the tasks. Fuming with anger, Mrs Anna climbed the stairs. When Mrs Anna entered the room, she was shocked. The bed was a mess. Sheets of papers were lying around casually. Ari hadn't unpacked her bags, and her clothes were stuffed in the cupboard. Ari was standing near the window, painting. 

Mrs Anna grabbed the canvas and threw it out the window. 

Ari exclaimed, "What the hell-"

"Mind your language, young lady. You broke the only ground rules I had. You were asked to follow the pinboard by second, but you didn't even look at it."

"Why should I? I am not an order freak, unlike you."

Mrs Anna slapped her and said, "I need a summary on 'Irene Iddesleigh' on my desk by tomorrow evening. You will find the book in my personal library. It is on the last shelf. "

Ari whimpered.

Before exiting the room, Mrs Anna instructed her, "Also, clean the room and keep everything back to its original place. You may find the art room in the basement. All art and craftwork are done down there."

Ted was coming to meet Ari when he saw the run-over canvas. It was badly damaged, but nevertheless, Ted carried it to Mrs Anna's house.

He showed it to Mrs Anna and appreciated the art.

"It is a remarkable piece of art. You shouldn't have disrespected it by throwing it out of the window."

"I know, but I couldn't control my rage when I saw the condition of her room."

"I appreciate discipline as much as you, but artists tend to be clumsy. They can't help it. I thought you would know because, since college days, you always hovered around the art section."

"I liked reading about art."

Ted goggled her.

Mrs Anna confessed, "All right. I accept that I had come down too hard on her, but don't expect an apology from me."

"Your acceptance is enough for me. I will go and check on Ari."

Ted went upstairs and knocked on the door. 

Ari was weeping with her face against the pillow. She yelled, "Grands, if you have come for that stupid summary, I am working on it and don't want to be disturbed."

Ted was already inside the room and standing beside the bedpost. 

Ted said, "I don't see you working on any summary."

Ari looked up, wiped her tears and said, "I don't know you."

"Ohh, but I know you very well. An, I mean your Grands is always going on and on about you. She never stops talking about you."

"I suppose she always tells you the bad things."

"Well, no. I am Ted, by the way."

"I am Ari."

Returning the canvas to Ari, Ted said, "I know that. You know Ari, you have a skilful hand at painting canvases."

"You know, Ted, you have a keen art for art. To appreciate my art, you have to be able to appreciate someone or something at its worst."

"That means it's your lucky day today. I am a connoisseur of art, and this type of paintings are my aesthetics. And so of your Grands."

Ari scoffed, "She can never appreciate art. She is a control freak who wants everything in order. She threw my painting outside."

"You shouldn't say-"

"Please leave. While I enjoyed our little talk, I don't want anyone to teach me mannerism. I am who I am."

Ted headed for the exit. But before leaving, he said, "I live in the opposite house. If your Grands give you any trouble, don't mind coming over."

Downstairs, Ted explained the situation to Mrs Anna. 

She commented, "She has one big attitude. Let her be."

Ted was disappointed by Mrs Anna reaction and left. Mrs Anna's alarm rang again, and she returned to following the schedule. 

Before dinner time, Ari handed over some papers to Mrs Anna. When Mrs Anna read the title, she was stunned. It was the summary Mrs Anna had asked her to write. She hugged her and said, "Ari, you made me proud today. But how did you finish it in a few hours?"

"Simple. Copy and paste."

Mrs Anna grabbed Ari's shoulder firmly and asked, "Why did you cheat?"

"I didn't cheat. You had said to me, 'I need a summary by tomorrow evening'. You never asked me to write on my own."

Although Mrs Anna was agitated, she felt compelled to appreciate her creativity. So she decided not to say anything and let Ari go. 

The next day something peculiar happened that forever changed Mrs Anna. When she went to collect the laundry, she was horrified to see what she had seen. Ari had dropped her colourful clothes in the white clothes' basket. The dye from coloured clothes had seeped into the white clothes and ruined them. 

Mrs Anna yelled from the basement, "Ari! Come down to the basement at once!"

Ari hurriedly came down to the basement, skipping some stairs in the way. She asked, "Did hell break loose or what, Grands?"

"Oh, yes. It did. You ruined my clothes." She showed Ari the ruined clothes and said, "See!"

"Chill, Grands! I got the exact colour I wanted for my top," she took out her top with different shades of blue, green and red.

Mrs Anna stomped her feet and said, "Get out! Get out of my house! You are insufferable."

Ari couldn't understand why her Grands was behaving in a deranged way. She tried to understand, "What happened, Grands?"

Mrs Anna got on her knees. With tears rolling down her cheeks, Mrs Anna said, "Leave. Please go."

Ari kneeled"Grands-"

"Go, Ari!"

Ari climbed upstairs and stuffed her clothes and paint kit into her bags. She loaded the bags into the car and started the engine. Ted was standing outside his house and looking over. Ari saw concern in his eyes. She wanted to approach him and talk to him, but something inside her was pulling her apart. It was telling her to go. 

When Mrs Anna came to the front door, Ari thought she had come to ask her to stay, but when she closed the door on her, she pedalled the accelerator. She was out of Mrs Anna's lane in the blink of an eye. Within minutes, she was out of Manchester, having left behind her Grands and Ted. 

As she drove on her way to Leeds, an electric wire snapped off and electrocuted her car. Ari sustained burns and serious injuries. 

She had spent almost a month in the hospital, recovering from her injuries. During Ari's stay at the hospital, Mrs Anna had tried to visit Ari, but she refused to see her. She was angry at her. She still loved her, but she was angry with her for some unknown reason that Ari didn't quite understand herself. 

When Mrs Anna had heard of Ari's accident from her mother, she was filled with self-guilt. She blamed herself for what happened to Ari, and when Ari refused to see her, guilt overwhelmed her. 

She threw her pinboards into the dustbin and stayed inside her room for almost a year. No one ever heard from her or saw her or her famous cookies during that time. She had discarded her order system and learned to live free. She had started to draw and paint again, just like in her college days.