Memories of Flight 727 (Camren)

Chapter 1

Memories of flight 727

Camila Cabello paid no attention to the wide-open spaces far below California Air Express' Las Vegas Shuttle as it made a wide banking turn that gave the passengers on her side of the aircraft a breathtaking view. With almost as many hours in the air as the pilot at the controls, the former flight attendant had seen it too many times before to be impressed.

Instead, the twenty-six year old vice-president of in-flight operations concentrated on the paperwork she had brought with her to wrap up before she could enjoy her long overdue vacation. It was only two hundred and fifty miles separating Los Angeles, where she was now based at the airline's home office, and Las Vegas, but experience told her that it would still be almost another half hour before they landed. There were always a lot of flights into Vegas on a Friday afternoon and it was normal for them to get backed up over the desert.

The light was already on for passengers to return to their seats and strap themselves in, but the short haired brunette rarely paid attention to such things. After all, since technically, she was the person responsible for all of the attendants on the plane, none of them were about to tell her she couldn't head back to the bathroom when she wanted to.

Coming back up the aisle, Camila made it a point to mention to the senior attendant onboard how impressed she was with the way his crew went about their jobs. It didn't hurt to let the troops know you paid attention. Truth be told, Camila sometimes missed the days when she traveled around the country doing the same job as the younger man she was chatting with. There was a sense of freedom about sometimes being in two or three different cities a week and living a carefree life. But nothing lasts forever, she reminded herself once again.

Halfway back to her seat, Camila had to wait as a passenger got up to put something in the overhead compartment. Standing there, she made eye contact with a rather cute brunette haired woman in the seat next to the woman who had gotten up. With a perfect build and long hair below her shoulders, she looked to be in her mid-twenties. Bright green eyes met Camila's brown for a moment and she returned the older woman's smile. Then the moment passed and the young lady turned her attention back to the book she'd been reading.

That was another thing she missed from those not so long ago days, Camila mused as the woman in the aisle sat down and she was able to continue on to her seat. Back then; she could get a lot more than a smile from a pretty woman like that. Not to say Camila lacked for company when she wanted it nowadays, but with all the changes in her life, the more adventurous aspects of it were just memories now.

By the time she sat down and buckled her seat belt, Camila realized that there was something more about the brunette bothering her than just a reminder of glory days. The woman seemed familiar somehow, but she couldn't place her. She'd literally encountered thousands of women in her professional life, but only a few had ever made any lasting impressions. And if she'd known a woman like that on a personal level, she was sure she would've remembered.

"Must be my imagination," Camila told herself as she packed away the last of her papers in her attache case. "Another sign I'm getting older." she silently laughed.

Yet, ten minutes later, the question was still bothering her. So much so that she got back up from her seat and went back to the attendant's station where the senior attendant was wrapping things up as well.

"Is there a problem?" Troy asked when he looked up and saw her standing there.

"No, not at all," Camila assured him, "I'd just like to take a look at your passenger manifest for a moment, if you don't mind?"

Troye hesitated for a few seconds, for which Camila gave him credit. That wasn't the sort of thing you normally shared with the passengers. Then again, she wasn't exactly a passenger either, he justified as he took the list out of the drawer and handed it to her.

It only took a second for Camila to run her finger down the seating chart and find the name, Lauren Jauregui. A name that drew a total blank to her. Chalking it all up to the imagination it probably was, she thanked Troye and handed it back to him. On the way back to her seat, she made it a point to walk up the other aisle. Taking a last look at Ms. Jauregui as she passed her row, Camila still felt like she knew her from somewhere.

"That just shows me that I'm working too hard and I haven't gotten laid in far too long," Camila grinned as she strapped herself in for the last time. Hopefully, the weekend in Las Vegas would take care of both problems.