The Sky's The Limit (WLW)

3

"Good afternoon. Welcome aboard." The stewardesses smiled warmly as they greeted their passengers boarding their 1:15pm flight to Rome.

The whole crew was lucky that they hadn't drunk enough the previous night to cause a hangover. They'd made sure to drink plenty of coffee at breakfast to chase away the morning slump and they had packed their bags, put their uniforms on, checked out of the hotel and arrived at Heathrow Airport a good hour before their flight.

Tanner had her black fitted Captain's blazer on over her uniform with the four gold rings around her cuffs, as well as her black, white and gold Captain's hat placed neatly on her head, her hair cascading down her back from under it, like a mocha coloured waterfall. She entered the airport lobby with an identically-dressed DeMarcus while their stewardesses went ahead of them to check the flight itinerary.

It took a strong-willed individual not to stare in the stewardess' direction. As a company promise from Spartan itself, each one of them looked absolutely immaculate, from their fitted burgundy blazers and pencil skirts with matching hats, both the blazer and hat bearing gold Spartan pins, to their fitted white, short-sleeved, button-up shirts under the blazers with the starched white collar laid flat outside the blazer, to the tanned stockings accentuating the stewardesses' long, enticing legs and their black three-inch heels and crisp white gloves, tying the whole look together in one glorious package.

"If you really want us to believe there's nothing between you and Emily, then you better stop staring, T." DeMarcus leaned over to whisper to the Captain, a hint of laughter in his voice.

"Shut up." Tanner mumbled with a soft chuckle.

"I'm getting a pack of chewing gum." Caitlin told her fellow stewardesses as they neared the concession stand. "Do any of you want anything?"

"If you could get me an aspirin that would be great." Emily smiled in thanks as Caitlin returned her smile with a nod.

"You feeling okay, Em?" Melissa stopped in front of Emily and scanned her face.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Emily reassured her friend. "Just a slight headache above my eye."

"You should rest when we get to Rome." Melissa told her. "Do you want me to tell the pilots about it?"

"No no, it's okay, I'll be fine after the flight." Emily responded. "I'm sure it's just a little bit of stress. I used to get these headaches all the time in college when it was finals week."

"Just don't overwork yourself today, okay?" Melissa placed a caring hand on her friend's shoulder. "If you start feeling worse during the flight, just tell me or the others and we'll take over whatever it is you're doing while you sit down and take a breather."

"Thanks, Mel." Emily smiled gratefully and thanked Caitlin when she returned with her aspirin.

"Boarding in half an hour, ladies." DeMarcus called from the check-in desk and everyone gathered up their bags to carry them into the terminal.

As they walked, Emily turned her head and noticed a little girl holding her father's hand, watching her and the other stewardesses. With a big smile, Emily raised her eyebrows and winked at her, and the little girl smiled softly, still watching as Emily turned back around and sauntered away with the rest of her crew.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard flight SN502 to Rome." Tanner spoke into the radio as DeMarcus slowly taxied the plane onto the runway. The stewardesses assumed their positions and went through the safety demonstration before preparing for take-off.

Taking over the controls from DeMarcus, Tanner put the thrusters on and pushed the throttle forward, sending the plane speeding down the runway, before lifting it off the ground and into the air.