Come Fly With Me
Two
The time until her training class flew by but by the time the first day came, Sparkle was ready and more determined than ever. The training center was a thirty minute drive from home and Sparkle got there early to sit in the parking lot and give herself a pep talk.
"You is kind. You is smart. You is important." She laughed at herself in the rear view mirror. Primping the giant bow on the collar of her starched white shirt, she continued, "You are the beast. Be the beast. No mercy." She got out of the car, straightened her blue tweed blazer and brushed lint from her black pants. Heading for the entrance, she ran her fingers through her curly blonde hair. "One band. One sound."
The training center was a normal brick building that may have been an elementary school in a past life. The EveRy Airlines logo was above the front double doors and Sparkle smiled up at it as she entered. A table was set up in the lobby area and a young man and woman in the EveRy Airlines uniforms stood at attention. The woman wore a blue pencil shirt and white button up top with a blue and orange satin scarf. The man wore blue slacks and a white button up shirt with a blue and orange paisley tie. They both wore wings with their names chiseled into them and Sparkle swelled with determination, thinking that soon she would have a pair of her own.
"Good morning!" The woman's wings had the name Misty on them.
Sparkle smile. "Hi there, Misty! I'm Sparkle Lewis. Permission to come aboard?" Smooth, Sparkle, real smooth. Not corny at all.
The guy, whose wings had the name Joe, smiled back at her as Misty shuffled through some papers. "We just love that level of positive energy in the morning! We're super excited about all the new faces."
"I'm really excited to be here. This is really like a dream come true."
"Glad to hear it." Misty handed her a packet of papers with a bright smile. "Here's the schedule which may be altered depending on fast or slow the class is with the exercises. Go ahead into the auditorium at the end of the hall and we'll be getting ready for orientation shortly. Welcome aboard!"
Sparkle took the packet of paper and waved as she proceeded down the hall. The modest sized auditorium was full of people, all clad in business casual attire and she found her smile growing bigger. She ventured down the left aisle until she got to the middle rows. There was a group of girls standing and talking amongst themselves. One of them, a brown skinned girl with the prettiest auburn hair Sparkle had ever seen, saw her approach.
"Hi! I'm Liberty," she said, extending her hand.
Sparkle shook it firmly. "Hi, I'm-"
"Sparkle!"
She turned at the sound of her name and at the other end of the cluster, there was a dark skinned girl with short cut hair. Sparkle recognized her from the interview they'd attended together. Sparkle squealed with delight and accepted Faith's hug.
Faith turned to Liberty and the other girls. "This is Sparkle. We interviewed together a couple of months ago!" She hugged Sparkle to her side. "This is Liberty, Karen, Lily, Elle, and Valentina."
"It's nice to meet you all," Sparkle said.
"Don't worry," Faith said, "The first page of your packet has a name tag for you to stick on."
Sparkle sighed with relief and flipped open her packet. She peeled off the small rectangle of paper and stuck it on her blazer.
"We're just hanging out and getting to know our classmates before the first ice breaker happens," Elle said. She was a petite middle-aged woman with shoulder length brown hair. "A friend of mine was hired last year and said they love the group activities most."
"Good to know," Lily said with an emphatic nod. She was probably Sparkle and Faith's age and her dark brown hair curled into blonde ombré tips. Her black dress was professional but sleek and Sparkle felt like they could be close friends.
"So where are you from?" Karen asked. She gestured to the small group, "Except for Faith, we're all from out of town."
"Oh, well I'm from around here too. My house is only about a thirty minute drive east," Sparkle said. "Who's from where?"
Elle piped up, "Karen and I are from opposite sides of Texas."
"I'm from Chicago," Lily said.
"I'm from Cozumel," Valentina said. Sparkle could hear the slight accent in the short statement.
Before Sparkle could ask anymore questions, the double doors at the entrance of the auditorium were closed loudly and everyone settled into a seat as the uniformed attendants filed onto the stage. Misty and Joe were joined by two other women and one other man. They introduced themselves as the leadership team of the training class of June 2014 and broke down the flow of their training session.
Sparkle had read and reread and read once more the initial email they sent so she felt prepared. They also introduced the Vice President of the company who did a presentation of the company's business plan. Sparkle liked how transparent they were and forthcoming about their expectations for the next five and ten years although she didn't take notes.
Eventually, they were all given employee numbers and had their pictures taken for their official EveRy Airlines ID. Sparkle looked lovingly at her still warm ID card.
"We'll have a ten minute break then meet upstairs in room 203 to begin our first class."
Sparkle had counted fifty trainees in the room and they all filed out in an orderly fashion. Sparkle looked around and felt secure in the fact that they were all in this together. As Gerri, one of the instructors said earlier, they were going to become one giant family and should help each other reach the finish line.
"You is kind. You is smart. You is important." She laughed at herself in the rear view mirror. Primping the giant bow on the collar of her starched white shirt, she continued, "You are the beast. Be the beast. No mercy." She got out of the car, straightened her blue tweed blazer and brushed lint from her black pants. Heading for the entrance, she ran her fingers through her curly blonde hair. "One band. One sound."
The training center was a normal brick building that may have been an elementary school in a past life. The EveRy Airlines logo was above the front double doors and Sparkle smiled up at it as she entered. A table was set up in the lobby area and a young man and woman in the EveRy Airlines uniforms stood at attention. The woman wore a blue pencil shirt and white button up top with a blue and orange satin scarf. The man wore blue slacks and a white button up shirt with a blue and orange paisley tie. They both wore wings with their names chiseled into them and Sparkle swelled with determination, thinking that soon she would have a pair of her own.
"Good morning!" The woman's wings had the name Misty on them.
Sparkle smile. "Hi there, Misty! I'm Sparkle Lewis. Permission to come aboard?" Smooth, Sparkle, real smooth. Not corny at all.
The guy, whose wings had the name Joe, smiled back at her as Misty shuffled through some papers. "We just love that level of positive energy in the morning! We're super excited about all the new faces."
"I'm really excited to be here. This is really like a dream come true."
"Glad to hear it." Misty handed her a packet of papers with a bright smile. "Here's the schedule which may be altered depending on fast or slow the class is with the exercises. Go ahead into the auditorium at the end of the hall and we'll be getting ready for orientation shortly. Welcome aboard!"
Sparkle took the packet of paper and waved as she proceeded down the hall. The modest sized auditorium was full of people, all clad in business casual attire and she found her smile growing bigger. She ventured down the left aisle until she got to the middle rows. There was a group of girls standing and talking amongst themselves. One of them, a brown skinned girl with the prettiest auburn hair Sparkle had ever seen, saw her approach.
"Hi! I'm Liberty," she said, extending her hand.
Sparkle shook it firmly. "Hi, I'm-"
"Sparkle!"
She turned at the sound of her name and at the other end of the cluster, there was a dark skinned girl with short cut hair. Sparkle recognized her from the interview they'd attended together. Sparkle squealed with delight and accepted Faith's hug.
Faith turned to Liberty and the other girls. "This is Sparkle. We interviewed together a couple of months ago!" She hugged Sparkle to her side. "This is Liberty, Karen, Lily, Elle, and Valentina."
"It's nice to meet you all," Sparkle said.
"Don't worry," Faith said, "The first page of your packet has a name tag for you to stick on."
Sparkle sighed with relief and flipped open her packet. She peeled off the small rectangle of paper and stuck it on her blazer.
"We're just hanging out and getting to know our classmates before the first ice breaker happens," Elle said. She was a petite middle-aged woman with shoulder length brown hair. "A friend of mine was hired last year and said they love the group activities most."
"Good to know," Lily said with an emphatic nod. She was probably Sparkle and Faith's age and her dark brown hair curled into blonde ombré tips. Her black dress was professional but sleek and Sparkle felt like they could be close friends.
"So where are you from?" Karen asked. She gestured to the small group, "Except for Faith, we're all from out of town."
"Oh, well I'm from around here too. My house is only about a thirty minute drive east," Sparkle said. "Who's from where?"
Elle piped up, "Karen and I are from opposite sides of Texas."
"I'm from Chicago," Lily said.
"I'm from Cozumel," Valentina said. Sparkle could hear the slight accent in the short statement.
Before Sparkle could ask anymore questions, the double doors at the entrance of the auditorium were closed loudly and everyone settled into a seat as the uniformed attendants filed onto the stage. Misty and Joe were joined by two other women and one other man. They introduced themselves as the leadership team of the training class of June 2014 and broke down the flow of their training session.
Sparkle had read and reread and read once more the initial email they sent so she felt prepared. They also introduced the Vice President of the company who did a presentation of the company's business plan. Sparkle liked how transparent they were and forthcoming about their expectations for the next five and ten years although she didn't take notes.
Eventually, they were all given employee numbers and had their pictures taken for their official EveRy Airlines ID. Sparkle looked lovingly at her still warm ID card.
"We'll have a ten minute break then meet upstairs in room 203 to begin our first class."
Sparkle had counted fifty trainees in the room and they all filed out in an orderly fashion. Sparkle looked around and felt secure in the fact that they were all in this together. As Gerri, one of the instructors said earlier, they were going to become one giant family and should help each other reach the finish line.