Now Boarding

Mia sighed as the last of the passengers left her visual view. As much as she enjoyed this job, sometimes it just took a toll on the soul. Not helping her was that her boyfriend of a year had suddenly broken things off with her. Just before this flight too. The coward couldn’t even do it in person but over text the nerve of him.

“Well, that's all for today.” The other attendant stated, “At least the last gentleman was amicable to leave without us having to call security.”

“Emily, you worry too much about how other people will react. It was not like the gentleman was going to make a fuss. I mean, he looked over sixty. I bet I could toss him out if necessary.”

“Easy for you to say, girl. For you to actually do that, I would pay money to see that happen. Anyway, how about drinks as usual tonight?”

“Would love to do that. I need to find a place to crash. Jeremy broke up with me.” Mia complained as she swept various detritus from the passenger cabin.

Emily paused her count of various items. She glanced at Mia with pity. Mia wished that her friend would stop judging her on her relationships. All of her recent relationships had fallen apart for one reason or another. It didn’t even make any sense. She felt cursed by something.

“Oh, hon, didn’t I tell you that man was not the right kind of guy for you? And now here he is breaking with you. You couldn’t listen to good advice, now can you.”

“You say that about every guy I ever date.”

“And have I been wrong on that? Personally, I think you need someone like the last passenger. A polite and well-dressed man.”

“Seriously, that guy is old.”

“I mean the type of guy.”

“Anyways, I can’t think about dating right now. I mean, where am I holing up for the time being? I was planning on staying at his place.”

“Well, hon, there is always the airline room,” Emily stated as she finished marking the inventory sheet.

“Well, it's better than paying for a room at a motel or hotel,” Mia hesitantly said while stuffing trash into a bag.

“I know you think it's the pits. But seriously, it's fine, and it's not like you need to stay long. Don’t you have a flight shift out tomorrow? It will be fine sleeping with others for the night. It's not like you are sharing with any guys.”

“Should we head out then for drinks? I finished the cleanup. Luckily this flight was not a bunch of slobs.”

“Sure, hon, let me finish inputting this into the system.” Emily started typing into the computer.

Mia grabbed both of their flight bags. After Emily finished and stored the numbers, both walked out of the plane. They swiftly navigated out of the airport and hailed a taxi to a bar both agreed was excellent. It did not hurt that the bar gave discounts to airline crews, so an agreement was easy.

They strolled into the Hpatt Legency lobby and beeline directly for the bar.

“One Cuba Libre and one Sidecar.” Mia told the bartender.

“You do love those Cuba Libre,” Emily stated as the bartender prepared their drinks.

“I could say the same thing about you.”

“Well, that’s beside the point. We are here to drink away the day's worries and troubles. Speaking of which, you are single now. Will you be willing to see my brother now?”

“We talked about this. I don’t want to.”

“Well, you were in a relationship, and now you’re not. And didn’t I tell you that the last guy was scum? Won’t you listen to your good friend? I think you can’t bear breaking up with someone even if they are not a good lot.”

“He was not a problem. Anyway, your brother is a lawyer for criminals.”

Emily sighed as she brought the delivered Sidecar to her lips, “Sweety criminals are entitled to a vigorous defense. He is well-dressed, well-paid, and doesn’t treat people like shit. Better than that tattoo menace you called a boyfriend. I bet my brother would soon defend him in court if those two were in the same postcode. Damn it, that old guy in the suit would be better than your usual dates.”

Mia sipped and murmured, “Can we please stop talking about this? Let's talk about anything else.”

Emily rolled her eyes, “Sure, sure. Anyways…”

A few more drinks passed their lips as the discussion flowed. The talk was mainly on the flight, wages, and dating pool. As much as Mia wanted to avoid the latter, Emily kept bringing it up. Mia deflected as many of her friend’s suggestions as much as possible. Luckily a drunkard now and then helped in that endeavor.

Emily finished her last drink and hiccupped, “Well, I think that's the last for me.”

Mia drained the remaining dregs of her drink, “Mee tooo.”

“So you be taking the accommodations?”

“Yeeah, why knot? Areee you, coooming with me to the roooom then?”

“In case you forgot, I moved here with my parents several months ago. I need to go home and check on them. I also see if they feed the cat. I'll see you later.” Emily sang as she grabbed her small flight bag and left Mia behind.

Mia sighed and carefully got up, grabbed her bag, and left the bar. Thankfully the walk to the work beds was quiet. A cool breeze invigorated her thought process a bit. Ever since the work bed program started, she thought it was crowded and cramped. The separate beds by gender were nice, but the no visitors allowed frustrated her. Or was it the other way around? Both? Neither? Well, not that it mattered. Hopefully, anyone who was there was asleep. She just wanted to change and do an imitation of a log. Hopefully, there was a space for her bag as well.

As soon as she passed the security at the desk, she made her way to the work beds. She spotted a clean bunk and a recently installed locker cubby next to it. Well, that solved her problem. It appeared people were still partying out since none of the bunks had occupants. She strolled over to the cubby and tested the door to see if it opened. She was pleased when it opened without a hitch.

She noticed a booklet lying in the cubby. She picked it up, intending to set it aside. She read the title Harem Hotel Rules. Could this be part of a board game? Curious, she leafed through the pages of the booklet. What was in there threw her off. A game show of transformations? Really? What the heck is this? Could it also be her ****-addled mind was playing tricks on her? She guessed it was time to go beddy-bye. None of this made sense.

As soon as she closed the booklet, her eyes went glassy. It fluttered down unheeded to the ground. She slowly stuck herself into the locker cubby and closed the door. In the blink of an eye, the cubby and booklet were gone.

———————————————-——————————-

The butler appeared on stage, wheeling a large box. He set it down carefully. He opened the box to show that the insides were empty. He then stepped into the box and closed the lid. A few seconds later, a woman burst out of the box.

The glazed look she stepped on stage with vanished. She blinked and rapidly turned around to see where the heck she was. She wore a blue airline uniform. A blue cap did not conceal the pixie-cut black hair she was sporting. The uniform did its best to constrain her melon bust as she twisted around. Light hazel eyes came to rest on Justine and Thomas with concern. She tugged on the hem of her skirt to straighten it over her substantial hips. She swayed ever so slightly.

“Welcome, dear. Since you read the rules, I would be happy if you were to give a little introduction, your age, and how you met Thomas over here. And it would be nice if you add a little something more.” Justine chuckled

Mia stopped her glancing around, stood to her full 5’2”, and said in her best professional tone, “Hiii there, I’m Mia Tang. I ammm hic twenty-six. I ammm a flight attendant for Spirit Jet. I thiiink that man was hic a passenger ooon a recent flight. I gueeess if I had to say some hic thing else, I suppooose I woouuld say I ammm a dog person.”

“Well, give it up to Mia. She did a wonderful job considering the circumstances. Please, dear, have a seat.” Justine stated with a bit of annoyance.

The sound of applause arrived from nowhere. Thomas, Julia, and Mia looked around to see what could produce that sound. The only things they could see were the manor and the forest. Mia gave up and shuffled toward the seat next to Julia. Taking a tentative seat, she glanced at her neighbor to see she was crying.

“Are you ok? Arre yoou real? Did yoou read thoose rules? You hic think they dooo what that thing saays?” Mia murmured.

Julia shook her head and quietly replied, “This is real. I have not read the rules. I do think they are dead serious about whatever those rules say. I felt it firsthand, and it was awful.”

The two women jumped as Justine purred next to them, “My dear, you're not being quite fair. Although that’s my fault as I have not given you a rule book yet.”

She snapped her fingers. The butler appeared with a rules booklet next to Julia. He handed her the copy before walking away from them.

“When you get a chance to read it, the normal punishment for what you were trying to do is punishment transformation. A penalty, if you will. However, since you did that without reading the rules, I had to substitute a non-transform penalty on the fly. Do not think you get off that easily if something like that happens again.”

Leaving them, Justine strolled back to the sofa and sat down with Thomas. Her arm gently wrapped around him again. She then noticed that he was a little unresponsive. Being near eighty did no favor in the ‘against shocks’ situations. Sighing to herself, Justine signaled the butler to get some minor improvements in. It would do no good if their master keeled over before the show ended.

As she watched, the color came back to him. He now did not look like **** warmed over. That was good. However, she needed to check if they needed more subtle adjustments. Also, she needed to give some spotlight to the master.

“How’s it hanging, Doc? Are you surprised at seeing a flight attendant plastered? I have seen quite a few drunks, and let me tell you. There is not a variety of drunks out there. We got one of the quiet ones and complaint to boot.” She purred at him.

Thomas responded, “When you said I know these people, I thought you meant more personal connections. I do not know that woman at all. It's not right for …”

At least he was talking and moving his limbs around. Hopefully, there would not be a need for such minor adjustments. Justine glanced at Justin. He put a hand to his heart with an open palm. It definitely would be better if it did not happen again.

She grinned and interrupted him, “Well, I know that. What I said is that you knew these people. You know these people to some extent. Besides, you two have flown loads of times together.”

Thomas spurted, “That is not a relationship. That is more of a coincidence or accident. You cannot say I know her from that. It's like saying I used to watch Evening America, and you brought in the reporter and then claimed I know the reporter.”

“Oh, but it can be that form of relationship. All the requirement is that you know the person. You don’t have to know them well. They could have zero idea of your existence. The only restriction is that knowledge, faded as yours might be.” Justine grinned, with the grin not reaching her eyes.

He stared at her with a stun expression. Before any words came out, the butler delivered to Thomas a Cuba Libre. He glanced at the drink before deciding to take it. As he sipped the drink, Justine relaxed and beamed. Things were back on track.

“Well, dear, you can talk all you want. The fact is that we are the ones who made the criteria. But if it makes you feel better, you should know the next few fairly well. After all, the next one is a person you meet regularly. We have signed and stamped her in. Please welcome …”