Come Fly With Me

Trisha had regretted coming to spend the night when Sparkle's morning routine woke her up. Her best friend was grooving to some music in the middle of the room in just her underwear but was pelted by a pillow.

Sparkle stopped to laugh and pick up the pillow. "C'mon, Trisha. You're normally the early bird between the two of us. Don't you have to get up and get going anyway?"

"In, like, two more hours," Trisha groaned, pulling another pillow over her face.

Sparkle smiled knowingly and went over to where her phone was plugged into the iHome on her desk. She scrolled through her music library and selected the song that she knew would get Trisha up and out of bed. The remote lying on the corner of the bed served as Sparkle's microphone when the first few bars of the song played, "I'm gettin a lil tired of your broken promises, promises. Lookin' at your pager seein different numbers, numbers..."

Trisha pushed the pillow aside and joined the singing. "Call you on the cell, you're hangin with the fellas, fellas. Hangin with my girls you always getting jealous, jealous..."

Sparkle smiled as she watched Trisha jump out of the bed and grab her phone from the night stand to use as her mic. They sang every word of the old 3LW song like it was middle school all over again; Sparkle killed the bridge and Trish came hard with the rap verse. They finished out the song with a fit of laughter.

"I can't believe you put that song on," Trish said, adjusting the satin scarf on her head.

"I can't believe you didn't even try to fight it."

"You know I can't!"

Sparkle stood up from her laughing fetal position on the floor an wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. "I know. But now we can get ready and they say you're never fully dressed without a smile."

"Bite me," Trish said, walking into the bathroom.

Sparkle blew her a kiss and went about getting dressed. She put on a pair of khaki pants with white pinstripes and a sleeveless white blouse. She'd have to be careful not to take off her black floral blazer since the instructors were sticklers about visible tattoos but it wouldn't be hard since most of the rooms had cold air blowing constantly. Sparkle gathered her hair into a high ponytail and put on a pair of small pearl earrings. By the time she was sliding on her sensible black heels, Trish was out of the shower. She was slightly taller than Sparkle, and slimmer as a result; she had a darker complexion and permed black hair that would fall into a sexy inverted bob once she took her scarf off. Sparkle smiled at her beautiful friend and filled with pride that they had held onto their friendship for over ten years.

"I think my parents should be cooking breakfast by now. Do you want me to fix you a plate?"

"That would be swell!"

Sparkle went out to the main house to find her parents were, indeed, in the kitchen cooking breakfast. She smiled to herself knowing she could set her clocks by them. Connor was getting ready to flip an omelet when he noticed Sparkle standing in the doorway. Realistically, Sparkle's dad did most of the cooking not only because it was one of his favorite hobbies but also because Sparkle's mom could hardly boil an egg.

"Good morning Sparky!" he said. The omelet flipped perfectly and the tall, blonde man gave himself a high five.

"Just in time for breakfast, sweetie," Mya said, beckoning her to the table. "It's too bad you've got training today because I just made this pitcher of mimosas."

Sparkle pouted. "You guys are going to do Sunday Fun Day without me?"

Mya shrugged innocently as she took a sip from her glass. "I'm sorry, sweetie. I can save some fun for when you get home."

"Only if she gets another one hundred on this test," Connor said.

Sparkle grinned as she poured herself a glass of orange juice. "Joke's on you, Dad, because I'm on a perfect streak."

"We knew you would shine like the star you are!" Mya said, hugging her daughter.

"Thanks Mom," she replied with an even wider smile. Making her parents proud was always one of Sparkle's goals in life. Since they gave her unwavering support, the least she could do was excel at whatever it was they were supporting. "Oh, did I mention Trish was here? She's got some time for Sunday Fun Day before she has to leave."

Connor flipped another omelet. "You know your mom didn't really want to share her mimosas right?"

"Connor!" Mya gasped, balling up a napkin and throwing it at her husband. "Are you trying to imply something?"

"Only that you're the smartest, most beautiful and caring wife a humble man could ask for..."

"Mmhmm..."

Sparkle laughed as she fixed a plate of food for Trisha. She wouldn't have time to sit and eat so she put her portions in a tupperware bowl. She kissed both of her parents good bye and asked them to remind Trisha to get a date for tomorrow night. She managed to rush out the door before they could ask for details about what was happening tomorrow night.

At the training center, Sparkle found her friends poring over their notes in the classroom. She smiled and shook her head as she put her bag down and sat next to Elle. She could understand why Valentina and Karen were nervous since English was not Val's first language and Karen liked to think her middle aged brain was too old to learn so many new things but the other girls had been doing fine so far.

"Ladies," Sparkle said. "You're all going to be fine. We know everything that's going to be on this test and you're just going to psych yourselves out. Try to relax..."

Faith sighed and shut her notebook. "I've been reading the same sentence for five minutes anyway."

"I just keep mixing up the POB with the PBE," Lily said exasperatedly. "Like, where they are in the cabin and the pre-flight procedures."

"I get those confused too," Valentina said. "Both of them help you to breathe but why are they different?"

"The way I remember it is that the PBE ends with the letter E," Sparkle said. "The word fire also ends with an E. You put on the PBE to fight a fire. You use the POB for medical situations and stuff."

Karen's face lit up. "Wow, Sparkle. That's amazing."

"I think I'm actually going to remember that!" Lily said. "You're a freaking genius."

Faith pointed at herself. "I would like recognition for bringing her into the fold."

The girls waved away Faith's attempt at getting any credit and the vibe among the group was way more positive as they headed for the computer lab to take their test. Sparkle gave Karen's hand a squeeze as they took their seats. The test was about fifty questions and, as usual, Sparkle was the first one done. The good thing about the way the computers worked was that they showed your score right away. Gerri sat at the back of the room and gave Sparkle a thumbs up when her score came through- one hundred. The trainee walked quietly over to the instructor and few eyes looked up from their screens to confirm that it was, indeed, Sparkle who finished first. She took a seat beside Gerri.

"You're doing an amazing job," she said in a whisper. "While we don't particularly condone cliques within the training classes since they can lead to others feeling isolated, all of the instructors have noticed how you help your little study group. Once you've put some time in, you should think about coming back and being an instructor."

Sparkle smiled. "Well, my mom is a teacher, I must get it from her."

"She's done a great job. You should really think about. After a year or two out on the line, it's nice to take a break." Gerri gave a reassuring smile.

"I'll think about it. When the time comes."

Gerri nodded and her black ponytail bounced. "Sure, of course. Why don't you go get some coffee in the break room or something? I'm sure it'll be a little while longer until everyone is done."

Sparkle nodded and excused herself from the room. The break room on the first floor always had fruit, bagels, and trail mix for the trainees to have. She fixed herself a cup of tea and sat down with an apple, wishing she'd gotten her phone from her purse before coming downstairs. A few minutes later, one of her classmates walked in. They smiled at each other.

Sparkle hesitated saying anything until she remembered his name. "So, Asa, how'd you do?"

"Ninety-eight."

"Nice."

Asa was Sparkle's age, skinny, and always wore his hair with a side part and slicked back. He reminded her of a Clark Kent's gay little brother. "You probably don't know this," he said, pushing up his dark rimmed glasses, "but I consider you my rival."

Sparkle let out a laugh. "Your rival? Why?"

"Because you're the only one outshining me." He sat across from her. "At first, you were my nemesis but damn it, you're just too nice for me to hate you."

"I'm flattered. I don't think I've ever been anyone's rival before."

Asa smiled. "You're welcome. My mission is to finish a test before you with a perfect score. If I can do that before training is over, I'll be content."

Sparkle was wildly amused. There was a need to amend her image of Asa in her mind. He was no longer Clark Kent's brother. He was more like Mandark from Dexter's Laboratory. "Not saying that it's not completely possible, but what would happen if you don't?"

He seemed to ponder her question as he sipped his coffee. "I'm not exactly sure."

She raised her cup to him. "May the best man win."

Asa raised his cup in return and they smiled at each other. Slowly, the rest of the class trickled into the break room and the room hummed with talk about the test, how well or poorly everyone did and how relieved they were that it was over. Thankfully, none of Sparkle's friends needed to take the test over and she was glad to hear that the tip she gave earlier came in handy.

Chase appeared in the doorway and got everyone's attention. "Before you all get too excited, there is one short lesson we have to get through today before we can let you go. Take another five minutes or so before heading back up to the classroom."

"Might as well head up now," Liberty mumbled. "Can't wait for the last bit of my brain to be fried."

"Cheer up," Faith said, linking their arms together. "We're off tomorrow!"

"Not all of us have a hot date with a hot bartender," Lily teased.

The girls hassled Faith all the way to the classroom. Sparkle sat beside Faith, remembering to mention that she had invited Trisha on their date. Faith seemed to be relieved that another couple would be joining them. For some reason, she was worried that she would be too nervous to form coherent sentences around Morris in an intimate setting. Sparkle suggested that she come over to her place so they could get ready together and, hopefully, relax any nerves Faith would have.

"Thank you! Thank you!" Faith beamed.

The lesson that stood between the class and freedom was about decompression. It was a decidedly scary lesson that included videos of planes with great big holes in them doing extreme nose-dives from 34,000ft in the air to 10,000ft in the air. Sparkle had always considered herself braver than the average person but the idea of plummeting from the sky got her heart racing. She was more than happy when they released from class an hour and a half later.

"Whether it's a smash hit or a disaster," Liberty said as the girls all filed out of the training center. "We want all the juicy details of your date come Tuesday morning."

Faith groaned. "I'm trying not to freak out about it already."

"Listen," Lily said, draping her arm around Faith's shoulders. "He's just a guy and all guys want is one thing. All you have to do is make him think he can have it without actually giving it to him... Unless you manage to see his dick print through his pants because if it's anything like his biceps, I know exactly-"

Valentina covered Faith's mouth with a quickness and smiled at Faith. "I think what she means to say is just be yourself. Que sera, sera."

Sparkle took one of Faith's hands. "And don't forget that I'll be right there with you."

Faith's concerned expression finally gave way to a smile. The girls gathered round for a big group hug before parting ways. As Sparkle drove home, she was happy that she'd been so lucky in the love department and didn't suffer from whatever it was that affected Faith so deeply. Granted, Hassan had been her one and only serious boyfriend but she'd been on a few other dates during their break and still felt that everyone would find the person they were meant to be with. Tomorrow, Sparkle would be sure that Faith didn't feel pressured to make Morris into her soulmate, but to, rather, let the night unfold naturally.