Flying Backwards by Jennifer W Smith Page B

illuminated, which gave off an eerie glow. The instructor began to speak in the silent cabin. “You have prepped the cabin for an impending emergency landing. It is night. You have instructed your passengers to cross their arms in front of them and lean forward in the brace position. The captain gives the signal and you chant, “Brace for landing!” Once you recover from a jarring crash landing, what do you do? What if the emergency lights have malfunctioned and flicked off? What if you are in total darkness? You are in charge–what do you do next?” Nora and the other trainees felt the gravity of the scene the trainer had established. After a moment of stunned silence, Nora started calling out the next sequence of commands. The drills were repeated several more times.
    The next day–running hijacking drills–was emotionally difficult. The shadow of airplane terrorism in 2001, only a few years before, lingered in everyone’s mind.
    * * *
    The fourth week covered trip scheduling, which functioned on a seniority-based system. The trainers warned that the senior flight attendants always picked the best trips, and new employees got what was left–if there were any trips left. If you were junior and didn’t get a trip, then you were on call in case a senior attendant cancelled a trip for some reason.
    On Saturday the group trained at the facility’s Olympic-sized pool. Nora brought a conservative swimsuit and wore a T-shirt over it, as many women did. A few trainees claimed they couldn’t swim, as swimming was not a requirement, so they wouldn’t have to get their hair wet. Nora had to jump into the pool, don a life vest, and manually inflate it. Next, trainees worked together to inflate a raft in the pool, climb inside (Nora needed a hoist from a couple guys to slip over the jumbo edge), and set up its built-in tent cover. She’d had no idea she would learn survival techniques to become a flight attendant. She felt pumped that she’d overcome so many obstacles in such a short period of time. She could not be happier that this was her new life.
    On Sunday morning, Bree came out of the bathroom after her shower. Her hair was wrapped in a towel turban on her head. She was smearing lotion up and down her arms when she saw tears in Nora’s eyes.
    “What’s wrong?” Bree joined her friend and sat on the bed.
    Nora smiled at her friend’s genuine concern. “Nothing’s wrong. I just hung up with my sister, Victoria. She told me I’m going to be an auntie.” Nora’s eyes glassed over again. “She’s been trying for so long to get pregnant. I’m truly happy for her. She’s wanted to be a mom since we were kids.” Nora sniffed at the memory of her sister hogging the baby dolls. “It’s funny. I thought my big sister seemed to have the perfect life. In high school Victoria was captain of the varsity cheerleading squad, and she dated Perry Reynolds, the glory-boy football quarterback. Of course the dream couple reigned as homecoming king and queen. They got married the summer after Victoria graduated from the Pennsylvania School of Culinary Arts. They had a big wedding at the country club and honeymooned in the Poconos–” Nora’s pause was reflective. “But she couldn’t seem to get the one thing she’s always wanted–a baby. And now…”
    “Aww, that’s so nice. I don’t have any siblings. I envy you.”
    “Yeah.” Nora paused before she confessed, “I just wish I could be there.” Nora realized she was missing out, and she had only herself to blame. She was the one who left to pursue her dreams.
    “I’m sure your sister understands.”
    Nora shrugged.
    In four weeks Nora and Bree’s friendship had blossomed. Nora learned so much about Bree in that short time. Bree thought of herself as a pawn for her divorced parents. She went to private schools and spent many summers in England with family friends. Bree played tennis and rode horses. Her favorite pastime was shopping. Bree had gone to a