Page 17 of Flight of Fancy

With a breath that recomposed her posture, Arianna left her room and returned to the elevator.

She almost bumped into Elle coming back out into the lobby.

“Excuse me,” she squeaked, head down and legs booking it toward the designated meeting area. She did not look back. Arianna was only slightly afraid that Elle might see the embarrassment permanently setting up residence in her cheeks.

“Wasn’t that the passenger who always flies with us?” Charmaine asked when Arianna reached her. “I can’t remember her name, but she helped with Boss Tan today. Oh, have you heard how she’s doing?”

That was too much for Arianna to process at once. Much easier for her to simply grab Charmaine’s hand and pull her out of the hotel than to answer with a single word. Arianna had gone mute anyway.

Chapter 7

She didn’t see Elle again until May when Royal Asia celebrated their five-month anniversary. Arianna had heard through the grapevine that the recent debacle with Bowen planes meant many passengers took a chance on Royal Asia, who did not buy their planes from Bowen. Doesn’t Elle live near their plant? She had said something about it when mentioning she lived in Seattle. Or maybe Arianna simply associated Seattle with Bowen.

The initial wave of customer feedback commended the pilots and flight attendants for their noteworthy professionalism, although as one journalist put it: “What else can be expected when they paid for the best from Singapore, Japan, Korea, and Malaysia? It’s well known by now that professional scouts rode other airlines to poach the first wave of staff!”

Nobody refuted it. Least of all the staff who were a mishmash of Singapura Airlines vets.

“Lots of people complaining about what this might mean for Singapore’s flagship airline, which is supposed to be the best in the world,” a DJ on the radio bemoaned while Kaylinn weaved through traffic to the airport. “Royal Asia this, Royal Asia that… come on, who do they think they are? Do they think they’re making a name for themselves throughout all of Asia? It’s the American influence right there, everyone. Maintaining themselves the status quo, the greatest of all time! Well, nobody asked for it, I don’t care what their profits say.”

Arianna changed the radio before she heard another word.

“Trust me,” Kaylinn said as they turned onto the road leading to Changi Airport, “nobody thinks anything negative about Singapura or Royal Asia. To be frank, your new airline is the hottest thing. Wouldn’t you expect the excitement to temper in a few years?”

“A few years is a long time for airlines.”

“I don’t think you have to worry is all I’m saying. A few of my friends have flown Royal Asia to other parts of the continent and had nothing but nice things to say. That DJ is probably being paid by special interest groups to say that crap. The new airline has the others shaking. They said it couldn’t be done after the pandemic.”

Arianna closed her eyes and pretended she didn’t see the signs pointing toward her drop-off. “I can’t think about this right now. I get the results of my first official performance review once I clock in.”

“You’re gonna kill it. You always do.”

Arianna thanked her sister for the ride and told her to text what treats she wanted brought back. As Arianna pulled her bags out of the back of the car and shut the trunk, she was prompted to bow to Boss Tan as she came down the unloading zone with a stylish wrap around her ankle. Likewise, this would be Arianna’s first time flying with Esther since the incident. My review happened while I was covering for her… She hoped to God that only made her look better.

Kaylinn’s car was long gone by the time Arianna united with her coworkers for the preflight meeting. Boss Tan stood tall and proud, showing off how little her ankle hurt and how limber she was when making the rounds to inspect everyone’s hair, makeup, and uniforms. Arianna kept her gaze down while the Fly Service Manager announced the pertinent information for that day’s flight to Los Angeles.

“Today we have a notable couple flying in First Class,” said Rachel See-Williams, the woman in the brightest kebaya who usually oversaw Business Class. Her voice was louder and sharper than even Boss Tan’s, meaning the shrill sound tended to drill right into Arianna’s ear if she wasn’t prepared. I don’t know her from Singapura. She was a former China Airlines manager who was brought out of retirement with promises of more financial freedom from Royal Asia. And she took that to heart when lording over her underlings – including Esther Tan, who had to defer to the one woman ranking above her on the plane. “It is a great honor for them to select Royal Asia for their transportation, and we must make a good impression on both ladies so they will spread the word about our top-notch performance. That said, you also all know the rules: we do not discuss when celebrities choose to fly our plane. Anything that happens onboard must stay onboard. And, it goes without saying… no fraternizing.”

Didn’t they say it was two ladies? For a crew that was mostly female, such reminders were only handed out when notable men flew.

“Wendy Ahn, the daughter of Singapore Premier Insurance’s CEO, will be flying in 1A while her significant other, the former Mainland popstar Lisa Fan, will be in 1B. All correspondence, including what they desire, will be relayed through the honorable Ms. Ahn. We are to have absolutely no exchanging of words with Ms. Fan. So it was stipulated when the seats were booked last week.”

A small murmur broke out among the attendants. While it wasn’t uncommon for celebrities to fly in First Class, rarely were they such a noteworthy couple. Every once in a while there was a Hollywood item or a Singaporean heiress like Wendy Ahn… but Lisa Fan, formerly known as the pop sensation Yi Wei Fan, was a scandal that had ripped through every tabloid when she suddenly retired from the spotlight and popped up again as the lesbian lover of Singapore’s most devil-may-care heiress. Arianna knew more about their relationship than any other celebrity, simply because they were sapphic, and that was very relevant to her interests.

They’re on my flight. Oh, my God. Her professionalism would be tested, and not because nobody was allowed to speak to Lisa Fan unless she spoke to them first.

“You will find their dinner and breakfast orders in the manifest,” Rachel continued. “Now, while we have some time, let us disperse to discuss the results of your reviews.”

Arianna held her breath as Boss Tan called her back behind a partition. As her sister foresaw, there were no real complaints about Arianna’s abilities as a First Class attendant, and nothing about her job or flight status was at risk. Yet Arianna couldn’t concentrate on the one tiny criticism regarding slightly smeared lipstick when all she could think about was maintaining her cool around the biggest lesbians she ever read about in a tabloid.

When she was dismissed to head onboard, she had a few minutes to grab a snack to tuck into her overnight bag. Flight attendants were allowed to stop inside the Royal Asia lounge located near the gates and have food and drink deducted from their paychecks, so Arianna headed there now to keep her feet moving.

She kickstanded her bag behind her as she stood in front of the service bar and asked for a hot bahn mi to be credited to her employee number. While she waited for the sandwich to be heated and wrapped for her bag’s convenience, she happened to catch the gaze of an American woman sitting in one of the large lounge chairs by the bar.

Elle grinned at her. Arianna was now hit twice in the chest.

“Your lobster thermidor, Ms. Ahn.” Arianna removed the lid from the First Class passenger’s meal, which she heated and oversaw herself. Esther tried to move in on it, but I insisted. Esther took it upon herself to serve the other side of the First Class aisle while Arianna focused on the celebrity couple who would appreciate her subtle ability to fangirl without anyone noticing. I’ve listened to so much Yi Wei Fan in my life… I know all her singles by heart. Yet the woman sitting in the capsule by the window kept a gauze veil over her face and the lights off around her. Only the muted glow of her TV screen, currently playing a classic Hong Kong movie dubbed in Mandarin, showed signs of life. “Your duck ragout is coming right up, Ms. Yi.”

It wasn’t until Arianna turned around that she realized she had directly spoken to the mysterious pop star. Nevertheless, she gathered the other serving of dinner from the galley and approached with the same decorum she offered Wendy Ahn.

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