Flying Backwards by Jennifer W Smith Page A

from the local pizza place.
    Sundays, their only days off, soon became Nora’s weekly call-home day. She chose the time when the family generally got together. Her mom had sent a care package to the hotel, and the homemade goodies made her miss her mom even more. She wondered how she and Victoria were getting along without her help, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask. It was their business, she reminded herself.
    * * *
    The first part of the second week covered first class and coach services. The trainees practiced manipulating carts and drinks in the mock cabins. In first class, Nora would also be responsible for getting the pilots their drinks and dinners, as well as the passengers. In the coach cabin, she discovered pushing and locking those heavy carts was trickier than it looked.
    Later in the second week, the exams became more difficult, including memorizing the six terms for turbulence and their definitions, which seemed too similar to Nora to distinguish. Even trickier were the classes on transporting medical goods and their various labels. The instructor informed them they might receive coolers containing contents like eyeballs. Like kids in the fourth grade, the trainees made faces in response.
    Nora’s scores ranged from 85s to 95s. Stress continued to expand among the trainees. Fourteen more people went home.
    After two weeks together, Bree and Nora were getting along amazingly well. They never stopped chatting to one another about their days. Because they were not in the same classrooms, there was always gossip to catch up on.
    On the second Saturday night, Bree and Nora went out for a night on the town with new friends to let off some steam. One of the trainees lived in a nearby town and drove his sports utility vehicle to training. The plan was for everyone to pile in and drive to the nearest city. Bree helped Nora apply makeup from her vast collection of products. Nora took extra time blowing out her new hairstyle and curling the ends. Bree lent Nora a low-cut black shirt.
    “Wow, I wish I could fill it out like that.” Bree feigned jealousy and looked down at her reed-thin frame.
    “I don’t know… It’s kind of tight…‌and revealing.” Nora eyed herself in the mirror. She looked quite slim. She felt good and healthy. She had much more energy. But she had a hard time admitting to herself how sexy she looked.
    Nora got a glimpse of the wild side of some of the trainees at the club. Several guys hit on her, but she attributed it to being in Bree’s company. Bree, after all, was a head-turner. Nora did find one guy attractive, but she wasn’t ready for that kind of attention yet. Nora noticed actions that night that later led to hookups.
    * * *
    In the third week, the exams covered airport codes and US and international geography. They briefly reviewed time zones and the twenty-four-hour clock convention. In the physical training session, Nora learned how to put out a fire with an extinguisher. She opened an aircraft window for evacuation purposes and loudly chanted instructions for how to climb through and slide off the wing. She evacuated several different styles of aircraft using a deployed slide. They practiced with some trainees wearing signs around their neck: Blind Person, Holding an Infant , and others to prepare the trainees for all possible situations. The instructors taught them the evacuation procedures and successfully instilled the significance of how critical their job might be. Flight attendants did not just serve drinks and hand out pillows; they could save lives. Nora felt empowered.
    During one evacuation drill, it was Nora’s turn to be in the mock flight attendant jump seat. Other trainees sat in the passenger seats and stared at her. At the right moment, she would be responsible for leading the passengers during an emergency. Nora inhaled deeply and rehearsed her memorized commands. The trainer turned off all the overhead lights, leaving only the emergency lights