A minor setback

Rachel and Stina work together often. Today would be no different… if not for the events following their entrance to the airport.

Rachel looked around, never not amazed by the lively place. “Hey Stina!” The blonde girl a few meters away turned in Rachel’s direction. “I heard we’d be flying together again!” They both smiled and greeted each other with a hug.

“I heard too. Today’s looking to be a long flight.” Stina replied.

Rachel set down her small luggage. “That’s right. We’re going to be in the air for about 11 hours today. Spain. Quite a ways from the Rockies. Still, the view is always stunning.”

“You’re stunned by any good view. No matter how many times you’ve seen it.”

“Yeah. Come on. We don’t have a lot of time before we have to be on the plane.” I grab my thin suitcase. The only things in it were the uniform she hadn’t yet put on and a few personal items. “Let’s get past TSA and get to the plane. It’s at deck… C23?”

Stina followed her, then remembered she hadn’t eaten yet. “I haven’t had breakfast yet. I’m gonna get something to eat. I can’t rely on those travel snacks alone.”

“Stina. We have to be on deck in half an hour from now! We don’t have time.”

“Oh please. I’ve done this plenty of times. We’ll be there in no time.” Stina continued in the opposite direction, toward the sandwich bar. “I love this place.” She and Rachel stepped into a long line. Not only was the line longer than usual, there were noticeably fewer workers.

After a couple minutes of very little progression, Rachel spoke up. “Stina, this is going kinda slow.”

“Relax. We’re nearly next up. Why are you even here still? Shouldn’t you be getting dressed in the attendant’s uniform?” Stina asked.

Rachel looked at the clock and then at her suitcase which hadn’t even been opened yet. “And leave you accountable for your own timeliness? Uh-uh. I’m not serving this whole flight without you just because you missed the flight by being hungry. I won’t be happy if they have to postpone it either.”

“Alright fine. Hold up. I’m next.” Stina proceeded to order. “Rachel, you need anything?”

“No! Just get your food and be done with it!” Rachel pushed her friend.

“Suit yourself.” The two grabbed a table and sat down. Rachel was about to stand up and walk to the bathroom to change before her friend stopped her. “Don’t rush yourself now. My meal will be here soon. I don’t want to have you go missing right as I finish up.”

“Fine, but as soon as you are done, we’re on our way to TSA.” Rachel commanded.

“Of course.” Stina appeased her black haired friend. Nearly 10 more minutes passed before she got her sandwich. Not only did she wait forever to get the meal, but she also certainly savored it too. Eventually, she finished up and they grabbed their cases and rushed to the lines.

“Come on! We’ll change on board! We don’t have enough time!” Rachel spat. Luckily, they were personnel and got a quicker line and less of a detailed personal scan. However, their catch was that their luggage was to be fully examined before flight for safety reasons. An examination team went through each of their nearly identical suitcases. “Excuse me. We’re in a bit of a hurry. Do you think this could go any faster?”

The agent replied. “We’ll try to meet your time as best we can.” They continued to scan every individual content of their cases. They’d gotten everything taken care of and were on the last one: both of their 1-piece uniform dresses. The scan was complete and per usual, no hazards.

“Great. Just pack everything back up and let’s hurry out of here.” Stina said. In their rush, they packed most of their things into their bags and knocked something’s on the floor in their messy fashion.

One of the two agents saw the dresses and a few other items had fallen to the floor. “Hey wait, you’re forgetting some things.” The first one knelt down and grabbed their IDs and one of their novels. The second one bent down and picked up both of their uniforms.

“Oh thanks!” Rachel grabbed the IDs as the second one hadn’t stood up yet. The two ran out the door.

“Wait!” The second agent ran to the door and watched the two running quickly from the examination room. “Ehh. Tuesdays.” He reentered the room and tossed the dresses among a confiscation pile.

“Phew. We’re not too late.” Stina saw the lines beginning to load into the plane. “Let’s scan in and greet the passengers. Once we’re airborne, we’ll get dressed.”

“Why not do it now?” Rachel questioned.

“Passengers often use the bathrooms a little before takeoff. And also, it’s unsafe to be in a position like the one you’d be in near the time we start flying. Moving in general.”