Curious case of the missing 'Chutney'

Have you come across people who never accept their mistakes? You may have. But, how often do you come across people who can come up with a convincing story to prove that the mistake was your own even though it is one of theirs?

Tuesday, 5th May, 2009

Having breakfast at home on a weekday would mean that I need to have it as early as 7:00 AM in the morning and then I start to feel hungry at 11:00 AM again. Lunch isn't served at the leisure well before 12:00 AM. And once hungry, everything stops until I've had my food. To avoid myself from facing a crisis of this sort, I carry my breakfast to office and have it at the pantry. All is well except one thing, the problem of quantity. My mom can't get around knowing how much is too much and how much is too little.
When I opened my box that day, I found that there was very little chutney. At least, not enough for a couple of chapathis. So, to stop this from happening again, I called up home and told my mom that the quantity was very little.
That evening, at 6:30 PM, when I went back home, I took the box out of my bag and put it on the table. My mom was right there. Very casually, she said, "That is exactly the same amount of chutney that I pack every time". At this point, I knew that I'd made a mistake by calling her up. I told her, "May be you were not aware how much you'd packed". But I knew that she wouldn't let this issue pass-by easily.
At around 9:30 PM, right after dinner, I came back into my room, the rest of the family was in the hall watching TV, when the following conversation took place.

Mom: "I haven't decided what I need to prepare for breakfast tomorrow."
Dad: "hmmm..."
Mom: "Was today's chutney tasty?" (I knew exactly where this one was heading to)
Dad: "Yes, it was good"
Mom: "Your son tells me that what I'd packed was not enough"

She simply couldn't get her mind off it. I wanted to argue, but then, I knew that I'd have to contend with bland breakfast the next morning. So, I had to refrain myself.

Wednesday, 6th May, 2009

I was just about preparing to leave for work at around 7:05 AM. I had no idea that was about to be at the receiving end of a knock-out punch.

Mom: "Here's you tiffin box."
Me: "Leave it on the table."
Mom: "Do you have your breakfast as soon as you get to office?"
Me: "I have it at around 8:30 AM."
Mom: "Do you leave your box inside your bag and take it out just before you have your breakfast?"
Me: "Yes."
Mom: "Do you have a locker in office?"
Me: "Yes."
Mom: "Do you leave your bag inside the locker after you've made it to your work station?"
Me: (Still wondering where this on was heading to) "This is a laptop bag. It is big and wouldn't fit inside the locker."

What mom came up with next was the killer blow.

Mom: "Well, if you don't leave your bag inside the locker, how can you be sure that no one steals stuff from it?".

I felt like pulling my hair out. For a moment I pondered about my work place. Was it a multi-national, cultured company or was it the K.R Market I go to every day? I've heard mom coming up with some crazy stuff, but this one was way too amusing. Why would any one steal just the chutney and leave the chapathis alone?

P.S: To my neighbours in office: I'm sorry guys, she meant no offence. If anything, she was just questioning your character, that's all.