Jessica breathed a sigh of relief as she peeled her clingy blue skirt from her glistering, nylon-covered legs and carefully placed it in the locker to be washed ahead of the following day’s flight. After stripping off the rest of her uniform and changing back into her tight, chic pencil dress, Jessica elegantly lowered herself onto the bench in front of her locker and took her smartphone from her handbag, switching it on to check her messages. Ordinarily, Jessica would have headed straight home after a long flight, but today was different, as there was someone- and something- that she was waiting for.

“Young people nowadays, always staring at their phones,” Jessica heard a familiar voice from the North of England teases, snapping her out of her ‘trance’.

“You’re six months younger than I am,” Jessica retorted, making Natalie giggle as she changed out of her tight black uniform. “How was Warsaw?”

“Surprisingly warm for this time of year,” Natalie sighed as she illicitly loosened her corset before pulling on her own black pencil dress. “Have the- have the ‘final scores’ been published yet?” Natalie sighed as Jessica sadly shook her head.

“God, I don’t know why I’m so nervous about this,” the American girl moaned. “I mean, it’s not like they’re going to separate me and Paige, right?”

“Never in a million years,” Natalie said confidently. “Management can be bastards sometimes, but they’re not THAT bastardly…”

“I hope you’re not speaking ill of your superiors, Miss Briggs,” Rachel teased, making her presence known not just to Natalie and Jessica but to the several dozen other stewardesses who had gathered in the locker room.

“Are- are they up?” Carly- one of Jessica & Natalie’s English colleagues- asked. Rachel smiled a smug smile before nodding, sending a wave of excitement and anticipation through the locker room.

“Follow me,” Rachel said, elegantly turning on her heel and leading the group of young women to the nearby seminar room.

“That’s the smile of someone who’s just been promoted to senior supervisor,” Natalie whispered to Jessica, making the American girl chuckle. Natalie had never had much respect for ‘superiors’- and the more they rubbed their ‘superiority’ in Natalie’s face, the more they demanded Natalie’s respect, the less likely they were to get it. Such a defiant attitude wasn’t without cost, however, as the English girl was about to discover.

“Hey,” Jessica whispered to her Scottish lover as they encountered each other just outside the seminar room.

“Hey you,” Paige said nervously, fighting her instincts to leap into Jessica’s arms and greet her with a long, deep kiss. “Excited yet?”

“A little,” Jessica said, giggling as Paige flicked her jet-black bob out of her eyes and straightened her short black dress. In the six months since Paige had started taking hormone replacement therapy, her body had dramatically changed- her already slender waist was now even narrower, whilst her hips and backside had subtly widened to give the impression of an hourglass shape even when she wasn’t wearing a corset. Her breasts had grown slowly, but enough to require her to wear a bra in her everyday life and more than enough to create noticeable cleavage. Her porcelain-white skin had softened, and even her face appeared more feminine… But it was the effect on her personality that had been the most striking.

Before taking oestrogen, Paige’s typical attitude could have been best described as ‘fiery’. She was cheeky, often hot-tempered and always up for a laugh, but since taking oestrogen, she had become more mellow, more submissive… Almost as if she had found herself immersed in femininity, but rather than fight it, she’d allowed herself to become drowned in it until no trace of ‘Paul’- the man she used to be- remained. Jessica, of course, loved Paige and supported her through her transition… But she often found herself missing the Paige she used to know, the one she’d met almost twelve months beforehand.

“I don’t even know why I’m here,” Zoe sighed, sliding up to her flatmates in her own short black dress and chic over-the-knee black boots. “I’m never going to get picked…”

“I told you,” Natalie said, “if they pick me, they’ll have to pick you too!”

“IF they pick you,” Zoe said, fighting the same urges with regard to Natalie that Paige fought with regard to Jessica- the same urges that landed both Natalie and Zoe with formal written warnings that would remain on their employment records for months to come.

“Where’s Anna-Jade?” Paige asked.

“Still somewhere over England,” Jessica sighed. “I know she wanted this more than anyone, such a pity she’s not here. Have you seen Abbey? I don’t remember her being on a shift today…”

“Didn’t you hear?” Paige laughed. “She didn’t even apply, opted to become a mentor for the next batch of new recruits instead.”

“And she’s on leave all week,” Natalie said. “Gone back to England to see her family… Think this Monday just gone was her first birthday ‘as Abbey’.”

“Huh, good for her,” Jessica said as she mused over her damaged relationship with her own family.

“Okay, girls!” Rachel beamed, playfully dangling a key in front of her face before using it to unlock the seminar room. “One at a time, no pushing…” Jessica took a deep breath as she stepped into the room and looked at one of the many pieces of paper that had been stuck to the wall, the top of which read ‘London Hub- confirmed transfers’.

“Oh god,” Paige squeaked. “This is so exciting!” Shaking nervously, Paige scanned the same page as Jessica, desperately looking for their names.

“Well, that was fun,” Natalie sighed, turning her back on the printout that she and Zoe were reading. “Fun thing about having a surname that begins with a ‘B’- you don’t have to wait long for disappointment.”

“Oh- Natalie,” Zoe cooed, having also not found her name on the printout. “At least we get to stay together…”

“Yeah,” Natalie sighed. “SOME of us do…”

“Stewardesses- blue and red route,” Paige said excitedly. “Jessica Rachael Tyler! You did it, Jess!” Jessica let out a genuine smile as Paige excitedly squeezed her shoulders, before scanning the column next to the one that contained her name.

“Stewardesses- blue route,” Jessica said with a proud smile. “Paige Robertson.” Jessica had to restrain herself from giving Paige a tight hug on the spot, but Paige wasn’t done looking at the list.

“Look a few names above mine,” Paige giggled. “Anna-Jade Houghton.”

“She got in!” Jessica laughed. “That’s so cool… I- I can’t see Natalie’s or Zoe’s name anywhere on this list…” Paige sighed as Jessica’s face fell. Jessica scanned the printout one more time in the futile hope that she’d missed their names the first time around, but it was pointless- she had to resign herself to the fact that she, Paige and Anna-Jade would soon move to England, while Natalie and Zoe would remain behind in France.

“Come on, let’s go home, or do you want to wait for Anna-Jade?” Paige asked.

“She won’t be back for hours,” Jessica replied. “I’m sure she won’t waste any time in finding out the good news, though!”

“Very true!” Paige laughed as she left the busy airport with her lover, waiting until they were out of sight of the vast building before linking fingers with her American lover and giving her a long, deep kiss. Whilst Jessica had a smile on her scarlet lips all the way home, inside she was unhappy. She’d grown to love both Natalie and Zoe as close friends, and the thought of not seeing them every day was one Jessica was struggling to accept. What annoyed Jessica the most, however- even though it was something she had mentally prepared herself for- was the name at the top of the list that contained her own name, and that name was ‘Annabelle Cope’. To Jessica, the fact that Annabelle had been transferred to the London hub whilst Natalie hadn’t was nothing short of a personal insult.

“Hi girls!” Marie beamed as Jessica and Paige arrived back in the apartment. “So, am I going to have to advertise for new room-mates?”

“A few,” Jessica said with a sad smile.

“…You kinda won’t have to advertise for a new sister, though,” Paige sighed. “Are Natalie and Zoe back yet?”

“No,” Marie said solemnly. “I should confess- I already knew that you two and Anna-Jade were accepted, Rachel texted me earlier… Such a pity about Natalie and Zoe, but they did kinda bring it on themselves…”

“It’s a stupid reason to punish someone,” Jessica spat. “What they did didn’t hurt anyone…”

“Rules are rules,” Marie shrugged. “And you two have managed to follow it without a problem…”

“It’s still a stupid rule,” Jessica sighed, before heading up to her bedroom to change.

“…I think she’s a bit upset about Natalie and Zoe,” Paige sighed, following her lover into their bedroom, emerging a few minutes later in a short, patterned playsuit that highlighted her naturally pale skin, with the exception of the skin on her legs, which was, as ever, covered with a pair of black tights. Paige had just begun to cook dinner when she heard the front door of the apartment open. She hurried out of the kitchen with a smile on her face, expecting to see Anna-Jade, but her face fell when she saw the stoic faces of Natalie and Zoe staring at her.

“H-hi Natalie, hi Zoe,” Paige said quietly. “I’ve got dinner on the go, are you hungry?”

“We ate out,” Zoe sighed, peeling off her boots and collapsing next to her sister on the sofa.

“Aww,” Marie cooed, giving Zoe a playful hug. “Come on, look on the bright side at least- you get to live with your big sister for a few more years!”

“You said something about a ‘bright’ side?” Zoe retorted, making Marie snort with laughter.

“You’d have missed me if you had moved to London,” Marie said. “I know I’d have really missed you.”

“Thanks,” Zoe whispered, forcing a smile on her lips despite wanting to scream in frustration. Everything that had happened in Zoe’s career as a stewardess seemed as though it was designed to anger her. Even before she joined, the company had seemingly set out to frustrate her, by having a minimum application age of twenty years- and then subsequently lowering the minimum age to nineteen for the hiring round AFTER Zoe had started. Zoe had been promised glamour on grey route, when in fact all she got was a tight, restrictive uniform in boiling hot climates and an aeroplane full of lecherous men undressing her with every step. Zoe had hoped that her forced transfer onto black route would reduce her frustration, but much to her dismay, it only got worse, as the Arab businessmen were replaced by Eastern European businessmen, each of whom seemingly had a taste for twenty year old women with dancer’s physiques wearing tight clothing. Zoe would have given anything for a change in career… But the only other thing she knew how to do was dance, or teach children how to dance, and there was no demand for that anywhere in Paris. Zoe’s only choices were a job that made her miserable or unemployment, and both options had more negatives than positives in her mind.

After a filling dinner, the five young women returned to their sofa to await the return of the last member of their ‘gang’, with Natalie standing by the apartment’s stereo in preparation.

“Hi everyone,” Anna-Jade’s familiar Ulster twang announced as she walked through the front door. “Sorry, I’m late, I-“ Anna-Jade paused as the apartment was suddenly filled with the sound of music- a song that the Irish woman instantly recognised as one of her father’s favourites.

“’London Calling’,” Anna-Jade laughed. “Really funny, guys…” The Irish woman smiled sadly as she looked around at her flatmates, feeling especially sad as she saw Natalie and Zoe smiling at her and obviously trying hard to feel happy for her transfer despite their obvious disappointment.

“You deserve it,” Zoe said in a soft, quiet voice. “You really wanted the transfer, more than anything…”

“Thanks, Zoe,” Anna-Jade replied, giving the French girl a quick hug.

“And if London doesn’t work out, you’ll always have a home with us,” Marie said, also giving Anna-Jade a hug. “That applies to all of you.”

“And you’ll always be welcome to stay with us in London,” Jessica said. “That also applies to all of you.” After a long group hug, the six women sat down to watch television in silence before heading to bed- with Jessica, Paige and Anna-Jade taking extra time to pack some of their belongings away ahead of their relocation to England.

“I know I should feel bad for Natalie and Zoe,” Paige said as she cuddled Jessica’s body close to her under their light bed sheets. “I- I’m just so excited about London!”

“I know how you feel,” Jessica said, giving her lover a gentle kiss on the forehead. “It’s a whole new adventure… Kinda the reason I moved to Europe in the first place, to experience new cultures… I will miss Paris, though, waking up every morning, seeing the Eiffel Tower on the way to work…”

“It’ll make it a bit weird when we come back here on romantic weekends,” Paige giggles. “Knowing that we lived here for a year… I’m going to miss Paris too, but I can’t wait to live somewhere where I can actually speak the language!”

“Yeah, it must be nice to know you’ll be closer to home,” Jessica said with a smile, making Paige hold her even closer.

“For god’s sake, just call your parents!” Paige sighed. “I hate to see you like this, pining away for your family… It’s been six months, I’m sure they want to hear from you, and I know your brother and sister will…”

“I don’t even know who will be calling them,” Jessica sighed. “Whether it’ll be Jesse or Jessica…”

“You DO know,” Paige said, gently taking her lover’s face in her hands. “You’ve known all along…”

“…I know,” Jessica whispered. “It’s just… I can’t face up to it, not yet…”

“However long it takes you, I’ll be there for you every step of the way,” Paige said, giving Jessica a gentle kiss, which quickly turned into a deep, passionate kiss, which quickly turned into much, much more…

Jessica moaned as her alarm clock woke her from her slumber, turning her head only to be confronted with a mop of messy, jet-black hair.

“Morning, sexy,” Jessica whispered, giving Paige a long, soft kiss on her soft, pale neck.

“Morning, beautiful,” Paige whispered, returning Jessica’s kiss. “Where you off to today?”

“London, believe it nor not,” Jessica giggled. “Enjoy your day off. Try to get at least SOME packing done…” Paige giggled as Jessica slowly unwrapped herself from her embrace, patting the American girl hard on her backside as she slowly sashayed toward the apartment’s shower. Before long, Jessica had dressed in a chic sleeveless blouse and a tight black pencil skirt, and only stopped long enough to give Paige a goodbye kiss before sexily wiggling out of the bedroom, leaving Paige alone with her thoughts. Even though she hadn’t started taking oestrogen- despite Paige’s urging and a confirmation from her counsellor that she could start whenever she wanted- Jessica was still the most beautiful woman that Paige had ever seen, and Paige loved her a little more every day. The fact remained, though, that whenever they made love, it was in a very ‘male’ way- a way that would no longer be possible if- or rather, when- Jessica started taking the same hormone treatments as Paige.

There was also no telling whether or not Jessica would react as well to oestrogen as Paige had. Whilst it had been two and a half months since their big fight and temporary separation, the fallout from it was still ringing in Paige’s ears. The one thing that Paige liked the least about Jessica was her natural tendency toward jealous, paranoid behaviour, and Paige worried that if Jessica’s personality changed upon taking oestrogen- much like Paige’s herself had- the change might not be for the better.

The sound of movement from Paige’s other flatmates eventually persuaded the Scottish girl to get out of bed, and after showering and taking her hormone tablets, she dressed for the day in a loose, long-legged backless jumpsuit. Paige’s day was taken up with packing all of her and Jessica’s possessions away ahead of the big move to London.

Jessica, meanwhile, was several thousand feet in the air en route to the British capital, pushing her drinks trolley up the aeroplane’s aisle despite the difficulty caused by her high-heeled shoes.

“How can I help you, sir?” Jessica asked in her deliberately saccharine ‘customer service voice’.

“Coffee, black,” the serious-sounding businessman demanded without even looking at the American girl.

“Certainly, sir,” Jessica said, pouring out the hot drink and delicately laying it on the customer’s tray. “Will there be anything else, sir?”

“Did I ask for anything else?” The middle-aged man snorted. “That’s a ‘no’. You can go now.”

“Thank you, sir,” Jessica said, bobbing a quick curtsey before returning to the kitchen with her trolley. Due to the short duration of the flight, Jessica wasn’t needed again before the aeroplane touched down at Heathrow Airport, but as she stood with the other stewardesses bidding her passengers farewell, she felt a sense of inner peace that was missing from her personal life.

Ever since she was thirteen years old, it had been Jessica’s dream to one day live and work full-time as a woman in a foreign country, and that was a ‘mission’ in which Jessica had been 100% successful. Every time she pulled on the tight blue skirt, applied the regulation make-up or balanced the blue pillbox hat on her head, Jessica felt like not just a woman, but a beautiful, glamorous woman, and every stare she got from her passengers just reinforced that fact. Sure, the passengers could be rude or obnoxious- as was proven in the morning’s flight- but every job that involved dealing with members of the public ran that risk, and she knew that she’d rather face the public as a sexy stewardess than as a non-descript male ‘flight attendant’, especially with the promotion prospects Jessica’s managers had promised.

As happy as Jessica felt about her professional life, however, her private life was a constant source of turmoil. Jessica had initially planned to work for Soixante-Trois for six months and then ‘play it by ear’ with regard to whether to return to America as a man or continue living in France as a woman. She’d expected to move into a flat with three French women, immerse herself in femininity and then return to her old life, happy that she’d had the experience she’d always craved, but the deeper Jessica dived into her feminine life, the harder it became for her to give it up. Jessica had never expected that six months in, she would seriously be considering taking hormone replacements and transitioning to live permanently as a woman- and she’d certainly never expected to fall in love on her first day at work.

Part of what excited Jessica so much about her relationship with Paige was how they would take turns being ‘the woman’ when it came to lovemaking, but as Paige’s hormones began to take hold, Jessica found herself being ‘the woman’ less and less, and this greatly disappointed her. When she and Paige first made love, it was deeply passionate, like both their bodies were burning with lust… But twelve months later, the passion had significantly dimmed, to the point where their lovemaking was almost routine. Jessica still loved Paige… But she wasn’t sure that she was in love with Paige any more.

“Last flight over and done with,” Natalie teased Jessica as the American woman returned to the locker room at Charles de Gaulle airport. “Well, last flight as a Parisian, anyway…”

“I am going to miss this city,” Jessica confessed as she changed back into the blouse and skirt she’d worn earlier in the day. “Only really going to London for Paige…”

“Lucky girl,” Natalie giggled, touching up her lipstick as she changed back into the sleek pencil dress she’d worn earlier.

“Nah, I’m the lucky one,” Jessica laughed. “I’m really going to miss you, Zoe and Marie, though… Know who you’re getting in to replace me and Paige yet?”

“We think it’ll be the twins,” Natalie replied. “Not 100% sure yet.”

“Chloe and Clara?” Jessica asked. “Which one’s the T-girl again?”

“The one who’s 5 inches taller than her sister,” Natalie laughed.

“You know what I mean,” Jessica sighed. “Suppose that’s what I’ll miss as well, there’s only, like, a couple dozen of us going to London, gonna miss seeing all the faces heading into work each day.”

“Meh, you can always ogle the Virgin Atlantic stewardesses if Paige isn’t around,” Natalie chuckled.

“…Or the stewards,” Jessica whispered, making Natalie coo with surprise.

“Oh myyyyy,” Natalie said, altering her voice into a near-perfect imitation of the actor George Takei. “Is somebody missing being the ‘girl’ in the relationship?”

“Yes, yes, thanks for that,” Jessica sighed. “I knew this would happen once one or more of us started taking hormones, I just…”

“…Miss being the ‘girl’ in the relationship?” Natalie asked, her voice returning to its natural northern accent. “I guess it’s only natural, can’t really understand it myself but that doesn’t give me any right to criticise…”

“’Can’t understand wanting to be the girl’, says the woman touching up her mascara and putting on a pair of earrings the size of chandeliers,” Jessica teased.

“I’ve told you a million times,” Natalie sighed. “Everywhere APART from the bedroom, I’m a girl. I like that arrangement, Zoe likes that arrangement, it’s a win-win for everyone.”

“And Zoe’s never wanted to be the ‘boy’?” Jessica asked.

“Eww, why would she?” Natalie asked, making the two women laugh as they left the locker room. Before long, they arrived back at their apartment, laughing as they discovered their two lovers in an unexpected situation.

“Ignore them,” Zoe commanded as Paige stretched out her leg in front of her. “Extend…”

“Oui, Mademoiselle Renou,” Paige replied, before bringing her leg- and the pale pink tights that were covering it- back underneath her slender, leotard-covered body.

“If I’d know there was a lesson going on, I’d have worn my leotard to work,” Natalie joked, giving Zoe a brief kiss before heading to her bedroom to change.

“We’re only about twenty minutes into the lesson,” Paige said, straightening her leotard. “Plenty of time for you to join us…”

“Maybe next time,” Jessica giggled, giving Paige a gentle kiss before changing into a casual t-shirt and denim mini skirt.

“When are Marie and Anna-Jade getting back?” Natalie asked, emerging from her bedroom in a short red dress.

“Later on, around 9 o’clock,” Paige answered as she continued her ‘ballet lesson’. “Apartment’s ours for one last evening… Can you deliver ballet lessons by Skype?”

“I’m sure you’ll find a teacher in London if you’re THAT desperate for lessons,” Zoe giggled. “But you’re right, we should do something, you know, celebrate our last night together…”

“A double date?” Jessica asked to the approval of the apartment. “Sounds good to me. Don’t really feel like cooking, though…”

“We’ll be practically living on takeaways when we get to London,” Paige laughed. “Might as well start now…”

“Besides,” Zoe said. “We won’t have any time to cook, we’ve got to get ready for our ‘date’, we’ve got to fix our make-up, do our hair, pick out our best dresses…”

“You’d never be able to tell which of the four of us was the only one born female,” Natalie giggled.

“And I will take THAT as a compliment!” Zoe replied as she corrected Paige’s posture. Just over an hour and a half later, the four women had changed from their casual clothes and their dancewear into their slinkiest, most feminine little black dresses and were sat around the apartment’s small kitchen table enjoying their last meal as a foursome. As always, Jessica was wearing her deepest red lipstick, Paige was wearing her shiniest black tights and Natalie was wearing her dangliest, most extravagant earrings. Zoe, however, had outdone all three of her friends by adopting all three of their ‘quirks’- her lips were an even deeper red than Jessica’s, her tights were a darker black than Paige’s and her earrings were just as ostentatious as Natalie’s.

“Maybe we should have skipped the dresses and just worn leotards to dinner,” Paige joked as Zoe pouted her thick, scarlet lips. “Then all four of us could have had our ‘trademarks’.”

“I’m not a T-girl, I don’t have a ‘trademark’,” Zoe giggled.

“So you just decide to steal all of ours instead,” Natalie teased her lover, who smiled bashfully. “Though looking at you, Paige, almost makes me want to start hormones myself…”

“What about me?” Paige asked.

“I think Miss Briggs is complimenting the way your body filled out your leotard,” Jessica said, earning a girlish giggle from her lover. “And it did look REALLY good.” Paige giggled harder as she linked her fingers with Jessica’s under the table and gave the American girl a soft, slow kiss.

“We- we should finish packing soon,” Paige whispered, lowering the mood of the table. “We’ve got an early start tomorrow…”

“…As this is the last chance we’re going to get,” Natalie whispered, breaking the silence at the table. “…I suppose there’s no chance of an actual foursome, is there?” The four women all laughed at Natalie’s joke, but inside, they were all sad as they realised that it was indeed the last chance they would have to spend time in each other’s company.

The following morning, all six inhabitants of the apartment were awake early to see Jessica, Paige and Anna-Jade off. Even though it was Natalie’s day off, she donned her usual ‘commuting attire’ of a slinky pencil dress and high heels so that she could accompany her three departing friends to the airport, and smiled sadly as the three of them- along with the other twenty-odd stewardesses who would be moving to London- changed into their blue uniforms before posing for publicity photographs, giving brief soundbite-style interviews for British and French television and, eventually, boarding the aeroplane that would ferry them to their new lives. Natalie blinked tears out of her eyes as she watched the aeroplane roar down the runway and take off- even though she’d only known Jessica, Paige and Anna-Jade for little more than a year, they’d quickly become three of the best friends she’d ever had, and she would always treasure the memories of her life with them.

“Ladies and… Ladies,” Rachel announced to the aeroplane’s passengers with a giggle. “I would like to welcome you to a very special Soixante-Trois Airlines flight from Paris to London. I know, I know, all of you are well aware of the following briefing- or at least, you should be- but rules are rules!” Jessica smiled as the 27 year old Englishwoman ran through the safety briefing with which she- and all the other stewardesses on the aeroplane- was intimately familiar. Her smile faded, however, as Rachel introduced the other three stewardesses for the flight- the last of whom was Jessica’s fallow American, Annabelle Cope.

“God, this is so exciting,” Paige laughed. “All of the fun and none of the responsibilities of actually being a stewardess…” Jessica grimaced as Paige reached for the ‘call service button’, sighing quietly as a familiar blue-skirted figure minced up to their seats mere seconds later.

“Can I help you, ma’am?” Annabelle asked in her soft, refined Atlanta accent that made Jessica’s skin crawl.

“Cappuccino, two sugars, please,” Paige ordered.

“Certainly, ma’am,” Annabelle replied, providing Paige with her hot beverage. “Anything for you, ma’am?”

“No, thanks,” Jessica replied, taking care- that she noted her own passengers rarely took- to be as polite as possible.

“You’ve not had anything to drink since breakfast,” Paige remarked as Annabelle (and her drinks trolley) walked away. “You’ll be parched by the time we get to London.”

“Give me a sip of your coffee then,” Jessica said, making the Scottish girl giggle.

“Stop it,” Paige laughed. “Don’t want to get in trouble before we’ve even landed at our new home…” Jessica smiled as she stared out of the window as the coastline of France receded behind her, to replaced by the familiar shape of the Southern English coast. A short while later, the landing gear extended and the aeroplane touched down at London’s bustling Heathrow Airport- a place Jessica had been many times, but this time, it was different. This time, it was for keeps.

“Excited yet?” Anna-Jade giggled to Jessica and Paige as she grabbed her cases from the carousel and headed toward the brand-new Soixante-trois Airlines staff area.

“A little,” Jessica said as she and Paige grabbed their own cases. “Don’t even know who I’ll be living with yet, beyond Paige, of course…”

“Ah, well, good news!” Anna-Jade squeaked.

“Oh- you?” Paige asked. “Awesome! Why didn’t you tell us earlier?”

“Only found out myself on the flight,” Anna-Jade replied. “Don’t think the company themselves finalised the housing plan until a couple of days ago, Rachel told me on the plane that it’ll be the four of us.”

“The four of us?” Jessica asked. “So who’s the fou- oh god, not Rachel…”

“What’s wrong with Rachel?” Paige asked. “Okay, she’s a bit much at times, but that’s only during work hours, I’m sure she’ll be fine once we’re outside of work hours.”

“And besides,” Anna-Jade said, pointing Jessica’s gaze in the direction of Annabelle. “It could’ve been much, much worse…” Jessica snorted in agreement as the three women headed to the tiny locker room that had been provided for their company’s use. At Charles de Gaulle Airport, Soixante-Trois Airlines was one of the primary flight providers, but at Heathrow they would be just another one of many companies providing flights into and out of Europe’s busiest airport, so their facilities were severely scaled back as a result. The locker room would not fit twenty-four women at the same time, so Jessica, Paige and Anna-Jade had to wait over half an hour in their uniforms before there was enough space in the locker room for them to change back to their smart dresses, and when the three of them emerged, they found their fourth flatmate waiting for them.

“Hello housemates, this is Davina!” Rachel giggled. “That’s a ‘Big Brother’ joke, Jessica.”

“Jessica doesn’t watch reality TV,” Anna-Jade laughed. “Doubt she’d even get an American Big Brother reference…”

“And you’d be right,” Jessica said as the four women dragged their cases toward a waiting black cab.

“You’ll just have to leave the room whenever we watch TOWIE, then,” Rachel said to her American flatmate.

“Or The Angels,” Paige giggled. “Or Made in Chelsea…”

“Enough,” Jessica moaned, smoothing her dress beneath her as she sat down in the back seat of the cab. A short while later, the four women found themselves standing outside an old-looking building closer to the centre of London, which was to be their new home for the foreseeable future.

“I’ve only got one key for now,” Rachel explained as she unlocked the front door. “I’ll get three more cut tomorrow after the briefing.”

“How many bedrooms are there?” Anna-Jade asked.

“Two,” Rachel replied. “’Fraid you’re going to be sharing with me for the foreseeable future! The room, that is, NOT the bed!” Anna-Jade, Jessica and Paige all giggled as they entered their new home, taking a long look at their small living room and kitchen before dropping their bags in their bedrooms. The flat was fully furnished- which at least partially justified the high rent costs they’d all be paying- and all the fittings were clean and modern, a far cry from the old-fashioned styling of their former home in Paris.

“Don’t take too much time unpacking,” Rachel laughed. “Tonight’s Friday night, and I fancy a night out on the town…”

“I bet,” Paige giggled. “I really want to get settled in first, though, also need to call my parents…”

“Oh, okay,” Rachel said with obvious disappointment in her voice.

“Maybe tomorrow night?” Anna-Jade asked. “Tomorrow’s still a Saturday…”

“We’ve got briefings on Sunday morning, though,” Rachel complained.

“We’ve got briefings TOMORROW morning,” Jessica argued. “Paige is right, we should get settled in tonight, THEN we can all go out on the town.” Paige smiled as her American lover wrapped an arm around her slender waist, and she found herself unconsciously leaning into Jessica’s embrace- an act that made Jessica feel oddly uncomfortable.

“Okay, okay,” Rachel sighed. “We’ll unpack tonight, then go out tomorrow night. But mark my words, we ARE having a Friday night out sooner rather than later.” Jessica, Paige and Anna-Jade all giggled as they headed to their new bedrooms to unpack, feeling simultaneously excited and anxious about their new lives in London, whilst also feeling sad for the lives they left behind in Paris.

Meanwhile, in the French capital, Natalie nervously fidgeted on the sofa as she awaited the arrival of their newest flatmates- but in her mind she was sure that they wouldn’t even come close to filling the hole left by Jessica, Paige and Anna-Jade.

“Oh, relax,” Marie chastised her English flatmate. “They’ll be here soon, and you know both of them, you’ve worked with them plenty of times…”

“Yes, yes, I know,” Natalie sighed.

“And it could be worse,” Zoe giggled. “They could both be genetic girls…” Natalie allowed herself a small chuckle, but her train of thought was soon interrupted by the buzzing of the apartment’s intercom.

“This is it,” Marie giggled excitedly. Less than a minute later, two 23 year old women walked through the front door of the apartment and were greeted by enthusiastic air kisses from Natalie, Marie and Zoe.

“Bonjour!” Marie said to her two new flatmates. “I assume you know everyone already- this is my little sister Zoe, this is Natalie, and yes, the rumours are true, they ARE lovers…”

“Bonjour!” The shorter of the two dark-haired women said with a smile. “As you already know, je suis Chloe Michel, and this young women is my younger sister Clara!”

“Younger by a whole six minutes!” Clara giggled, giving tight, friendly hugs to all of her new flatmates before smoothing her straight blue dress and sitting down next to Zoe on the sofa.

“I can’t imagine what it must be like, sharing a womb with someone for a whole nine months,” Zoe said as she poured all five women a glass of wine each.

“Especially as we can barely stand to share a bedroom now!” Chloe giggled.

“I imagine it must have been weirder when your twin brother announces one day that he’s really your twin sister, deep inside,” Natalie said, creating an awkward silence in the apartment. “Sorry, sorry if that was a sensitive subject… When I came out to my sisters they were really supportive, and you two seem so close…”

“It’s okay,” Clara said, the smile returning to her scarlet lips. “I… Never really needed to come out to Chloe. We shared everything since we were young, toys, friends, clothes…”

“So you’d just wear one of Chloe’s dresses and not think anything of it?” Zoe asked.

“Exactly,” Clara replied. “My parents would always ‘correct’ me whenever I did- not as a punishment, just as an attempt to ‘educate’ me that I was a boy and Chloe was a girl, we were two different people, even if we didn’t see it that way. Then when we turned thirteen, puberty hit us both, and it became very obvious that yes, we were two different people.”

“Are- are you transitioning?” Zoe asked, enthralled by Clara’s story.

“Been on hormones for four months,” Clara said with a proud smile. “My parents were unhappy at first, but I’m 23, I’m not a kid any more, it’s my body and I’ll do what I want with it.”

“It’s just a shame we’re not quite as ‘identical’ as we were when we were kids,” Chloe laughed.

“I’d love to hear more about your story,” Zoe sighed, turning to face Clara with a wide grin on her face.

“Yeah, I think you two are going to settle in here just fine,” Marie giggled.

“Zoe,” Chloe asked cautiously, “are you- are you the one who used to be a ballet dancer?”

“Indeed I am,” Zoe said with a proud smile. “As much as I wish it wasn’t a case of ‘used to be’…”

“When we were younger, around eight years old,” Chloe said, “I used to take ballet… Except when I didn’t want to and I sent Clara along instead in my leotard!” Zoe gasped excitedly as Clara blushed at the childhood story.

“Let me guess- you want lessons, right?” Zoe asked the transgendered twin, who nodded happily. “That might be arranged…” The five women all giggled happily as Chloe and Clara continued regaling the flat with tales of their childhood, though Natalie couldn’t help but fidget uncomfortably as Zoe became totally enthralled by the twins’ stories…

“Hi mum!” Paige said into her mobile phone as she sat down on her wide double bed.

“Paige!” The middle-aged Scottish woman cooed. “How are you? Are you all settled in in your new flat?”

“Aye,” Paige replied. “Just about all unpacked, obviously I’m still living with Jessica.”

“Good!” Paige’s mother said. “You two girls seem so happy together… Is it just you in the flat?”

“No, Anna-Jade moved with us, the Irish girl I told you about,” Paige replied. “We’ve got a new flatmate as well, an English girl called Rachel who’s one of our supervisors.”

“Ah, so you’ve completely left France behind?” Mrs Robertson asked. “We can’t wait to come and visit you now that you live somewhere we can go where you don’t need a passport!”

“Even though England SHOULD be somewhere you need a passport to visit,” Paige chuckled. “Sorry, sorry, I know, no politics during our calls…”

“I’m sure it’ll happen within your lifetime,” Paige’s mother said in a warm tone. “I’d best let you get on with unpacking. My love to Jessica, and don’t spend too much time sightseeing!”

“Eh, you see the Eiffel Tower once, you see it a million times,” Paige laughed. “I’m sure London will be the same. Give my love to dad and Nina and Trisha.”

“Will do,” Paige’s mother said. “You take care, girl!”

“Talk later,” Paige said with a smile as she disconnected the call.

“You are SO lucky,” Jessica sighed as Paige laid down next to her on the bed. “Your parents are so cool…”

“…You should call your parents,” Paige said. “Let them know you’re now in London… See if they want to, you know, visit…”

“…There’s no point,” Jessica sighed. “Think I’ve burned my bridges there…”

“With your PARENTS?” Paige asked incredulously. “You never ‘burn those bridges’, and it’s been six months, I’m sure they’ll want to hear from you… I know Aaron and Hayley will.”

“I’ll message them on Facebook,” Jessica sighed. “Think they’re on holiday this week anyway.”

“Anywhere nice?” Paige asked.

“We used to go to Cancun when I was younger,” Jessica said. “That’s in Mexico, by the way.”

“Thanks, I was wondering,” Paige laughed. “Next holiday we get, we should go back to America.”

“You wouldn’t want to go back to Scotland?” Jessica asked.

“I can go there whenever I want,” Paige replied. “Just hop on a train… Or a plane, heh. And you owe me a weekend in New York!”

“Okay,” Jessica giggled. “New York it is! We should get some sleep, got an early morning tomorrow…”

“Unless you fancy going out on the town with Rachel?” Paige giggled.

“…Maybe next week,” Jessica said, giving Paige a kiss before standing up and getting ready for bed. Deep down, she wanted more than anything to call her parents and tell them the news about her move, but ever since her disastrous homecoming the previous February, her parents had refused to so much as acknowledge her existence- and Jessica found herself shouldering the majority of the blame. She’d been politely asked not to reveal ‘Jessica’s existence to her brother or sister, and the first opportunity Jessica had, she ignored her parents’ request. Whilst her brother and sister weren’t in any way ‘damaged’ or ‘corrupted’ by Jessica’s revelation, the fact remained that she had defied her parents’ wishes, which Jessica felt was even worse than living her life as a woman.

“Hey,” Jessica said at Anna-Jade as she passed the red-haired woman upon leaving the flat’s small bathroom. “Hey, Anna-Jade…”

“What’s up?” Anna-Jade replied.

“Have… Have you called your parents since you moved?” Jessica asked, cringing as the Irishwoman sighed and rolled her eyes.

“Where’s the point?” Anna-Jade sighed. “They made it clear that I’m dead to them, so fuck them.”

“It’s just-“ Jessica said, before sighing sadly. “Never mind…”

“Jess…” Anna-Jade sighed. “Are you thinking about calling your parents?”

“…Maybe,” Jessica mumbled. “I need to just set things right with them somehow, I can’t leave things the way they were…”

“Is that why you haven’t started HRT yet?” Anna-Jade asked.

“Partly,” Jessica sighed. “It- gah, I dunno.”

“Sleep on it,” Anna-Jade advised. “You’ve had a long day, get some sleep. Or some sex, whatever works for you!”

“Hehe,” Jessica giggled as she returned to her bedroom, stripping off her clothes and diving under her bed sheets with Paige. As intense as the lovemaking session was, however, it only served to drive home to Jessica the size of her dilemma as Paige fell asleep wrapped in Jessica’s arms and snuggled up against her chest, very much the ‘girl’ to Jessica’s ‘boy’.

“Mmm,” Paige dreamily moaned as she felt the soft lace of her thong slowly nestle between her soft, round buttocks. “I don’t think I’m ever going to get bored of this feeling…”

“Glad you approve,” Jessica said, giving Paige a long, soft kiss on her neck before putting on her own make-up and underwear. Soon, both girls- along with Anna-Jade and Rachel- were dressed in smart black dresses, ready for their first-ever commute from their apartment to Soixante-Trois Airlines’s small office near Heathrow airport.

“This is so exciting,” Rachel squeaked as the four women entered the office and made their way to the seminar room. “It’s like, we’re here at the beginning of something big, you know? First Paris, then Berlin, now London… Where next, I wonder?”

“Glasgow,” Paige said, making the women all laugh.

“Moscow’s more likely,” Rachel said as she ushered Jessica, Paige and Anna-Jade into their seats. “Monsieur Masson has been talking to President Putin a lot, I reckon black route may see some serious expansion some time soon…”

“Ugh, Putin,” Anna-Jade spat. “I’m sure he of all people would love T-girl stewardesses on his flights…”

“He’s a very good friend of the company,” Rachel said in a tone that sounded almost as though she was disciplining Anna-Jade. “He’s part of the reason the company has a black route in the first place, and I’m sure he’d be more receptive to expanding that business if the stewardesses were more positive about that prospect.” Anna-Jade remained silent as Rachel fixed her with a firm stare, before heading to the front of the room with the other supervisors and the manager of the London hub.

“I’d like to start by welcoming you all to London,” the manager- a young woman in her mid-thirties- announced. “I’m sure all of you are eager to get on with your jobs, but first there are a few changes that you’ll need to get used to, so for today and tomorrow, you’ll be undergoing intensive retraining. Don’t worry, it won’t be anything too severe- once you’re in the air everything will be pretty much the same, but there are a few things you’ll need to know about Heathrow itself.” Jessica, Paige and Anna-Jade all nodded as they took their notepads out of their handbags and began jotting down everything that they were told, eventually leaving the seminar room just after 3pm with their heads buzzing and their notepads full of information to quickly digest.

“Okay,” Anna-Jade laughed as she put her notepad away. “I dare anyone to NOT need a drink after that!”

“Think someone’s coming to take you up on that dare,” Paige laughed as Rachel quickly approached the group.

“Hope you got all of that!” Rachel giggled. “You three have a lot of homework tonight…”

“We three have a lot of DRINKING tonight!” Anna-Jade giggled. “I Googled a wine bar near our flat that looks like it could be good, we’re on our way there now if you want to join us?”

“Um, okay,” Rachel said. “Don’t let me tell you how to do your job even though that’s MY job…”

“…Only during office hours,” Anna-Jade retorted as the four women left the office, feeling a sense of smug satisfaction as Rachel followed the trio to the wine bar, where the women stayed until late into the evening.

“I am hitting the hay,” Rachel laughed as she slipped her feet out of her stiletto heels and stretched her sore feet. “That is how Americans put it, right?”

“Normally I just say ‘going to bed’,” Jessica retorted, slipping her own stilettos off her tired feet and heading into her bedroom hand-in-hand with Paige, leaving Anna-Jade and Rachel alone in the small living room.

“Umm, I’m going to head to bed too,” Anna-Jade said.

“Wait,” Rachel said, before grimacing at her overly authoritative tone. “Anna… Do you mind being called Anna?”

“I prefer ‘Anna-Jade’,” the Irish girl said.

“Anna-Jade,” Rachel said. “I- I’m sorry I was a bit hard on you at work, but I AM your supervisor, I need to make sure you adhere to company policies…”

“Even regarding Vladimir ‘Don’t-put-it-in-there’?” Anna-Jade replied, making Rachel laugh.

“Hey, I’ve got no love for the guy, but if it gets us all raises…” Rachel giggled.

“Now THAT I can agree with!” Anna-Jade laughed as she and her new room-mate got ready for bed.

The four women were up early again the following day- despite it being a Sunday- and had smiles on their faces as they returned to Soixante-Trois Airlines’s posh London office for the second day of their retraining. Once again, Jessica, Paige and Anna-Jade filled their notepads with information about their new workplace, including safety information, details about the facilities they were permitted to use and the duty rosters for the first week’s flights. The final part of the briefing, however, took a turn that none of the stewardesses were expecting, but which excited a great many of them.

“As you know,” the manager announced. “Tomorrow will be the official launch party for the new hub. All employees will be expected to attend in full uniform. Entertainment will be provided by the new British girl band Out of Heaven, and also in attendance will be the famous modelling group ‘The Angels’.” Paige- who had always been a fan of the modelling group in question- giggled excitedly as the received the news, giggling even harder as she looked to her side and saw Jessica stealthily rolling her eyes.

“Furthermore,” the manager continued, “as part of our efforts to increase publicity for the new hub, we have been in communication with the same production company who make The Angels’ reality TV show, and I can confirm that Soixante-Trois Airlines- more specifically, the London hub- will itself be a the subject of a new reality TV show, to be broadcast in 2016.” The manager smiled as most of the young women in the room gasped excitedly at the news that they were to become TV stars. Jessica, however, was dismayed by the news. She’d always hated reality television, and to suddenly find out that she was going to become a part of it filled her with a sense of utter dread.

As Jessica surveyed the room, she was unsurprised to find that most of the other women were all excited by the prospect- including, to her dismay, Paige and Anna-Jade- but when Jessica’s face glanced over at Annabelle, she was surprised to discover that the other American woman’s facial expression wasn’t one of excitement, but one of sheer terror.

After her own excitement had died down, Paige also scanned the crowd, looking at her colleagues’ reactions, and also picked up on the normally stoic Annabelle’s look of fear. As the stewardesses all filed out of the small seminar room, Paige spotted Annabelle heading into the small ladies’ toilets and followed her in there, trying not to gagp at the sight of the normally-cool woman almost hyperventilating.

“An-Annabelle?” Paige asked. “Are you okay?” Paige’s look of concern only grew as the tall, blonde woman turned around, her usual cool smile having returned to her face.

“Sure, honey,” Annabelle said in her soft Southern accent, though her trembling hands betrayed her obvious nerves. When it became clear that Annabelle wasn’t going to speak any further, Paige washed her hands- to give the impression that she hadn’t entered the restroom solely to speak to Annabelle- and walked back into the office foyer, where she was immediately greeted by her lover.

“Did- did you just go in there to talk to Annabelle?” Jessica asked as she left the office with Paige, Anna-Jade and Rachel.

“No,” Paige lied, inwardly breathing a sigh of relief as Jessica nodded, accepting her untruth. “How exciting is this, though? Our own reality TV show!”

“I know!” Rachel squeaked excitedly. “They’re even thinking of calling it ‘Sky Angels’…”

“Ugh,” Jessica spat. “I mean, yes, I get why it makes sense from a marketing standpoint, but- I trust we will be able to opt out of this if we want?”

“Of course,” Rachel said. “But you saw the rosters, you’re going to be with me on the first flight back to Paris on Monday, and I happen to know for the fact that there’ll be more than one celebrity on that flight as well… Plenty of opportunity to get yourself some screen time!”

“Yeah,” Anna-Jade laughed. “And you never know, you may end up being THE superstar, Miss ‘Third place in a beauty pageant’…”

“Just-“ Jessica said, before groaning. “Ugh, wish they’d told me about this before advertising the London hub, I thought I joined this company to be a stewardess…”

“Don’t turn down an amazing opportunity when it’s handed to you on a plate!” Rachel urged.

“Yeah,” Anna-Jade said. “I mean, this is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It’ll earn us more money if nothing else…”

“And did I see you unpacking a Cinderella dress from your luggage?” Rachel teased her American colleague. “You’ll never go to the ball if you don’t try…”

“Okay, okay,” Jessica sighed, her will worn down by her colleagues’ constant needling.

“On a more serious note,” Anna-Jade sighed, “maybe, just maybe if I DO become nationally famous… My parents…” The four women remained silent as Anna-Jade silently mused on her relationship with her parents, which made Jessica especially contemplative. If Jessica did become a reality TV star, her parents would doubtlessly disapprove of her even more than they already did, but her sister was fourteen years old- probably the age at which fame would be most celebrated. If Jessica became a reality TV star, her sister would see her as even more of a hero- or rather, a heroine- than she already was. However, if Jessica did choose to transition, she didn’t want every last detail of it being made public record. In fact, she didn’t want ANY detail of any part of her private life being made public record…

Jessica and Paige woke early on the morning of the launch party and approached the day with very different attitudes. Whilst Jessica was determined to get through the day as quickly as possible, Paige was more excited than she had been in a long time. The last time the Scottish girl had been so excited was immediately before her first day of work for Soixante-Trois Airlines, when she had shed her ‘Paul’ persona for the last time. As with that first day, her hands trembled as brushed out her shoulder-length hair, applied her elegant make-up and pulled on her skimpy underwear, and her knees quivered as she stepped into her slinky black pencil dress and stepped her feet into her stiletto heels. That first, magical day almost twelve months ago marked the start of Paige’s new life as a stewardess, and more importantly, her new life as a woman. This day, Paige hoped, would mark the first day of her new life as a celebrity, someone to whom people would look for inspiration… And to whom they would look for opportunities to increase her fame.

Jessica, meanwhile, had no smile on her face as she brushed her hair, put on her make-up- including her favourite red lipstick- pulled on her underwear, a smart, ruffles sleeveless blouse, her favourite pencil skirt and her favourite stilettos. As she arrived at her new workplace, however, she forced a professional smile on her face- just as she did every time she had any interaction with a passenger on one of her flights- but internally, she was dreading the day ahead. As Jessica saw Annabelle coolly stride into the employee area, however, Jessica became confident that she wouldn’t be the only one who wouldn’t enjoy the day’s events.

Even though the launch event wouldn’t begin until noon, all the stewardesses and their supervisors were at the airport early because of the limited space in which to change into their uniforms, meaning that once again, many of the stewardesses had to wait a long time in their uniforms as their colleagues got changed. Jessica was one of the first to get changed, meaning that she found herself alone in her blue skirt suit as Paige, Anna-Jade and Rachel all entered the tiny locker room to change. After taking a deep breath- as deep a breath as her corset would allow, anyway- Jessica coolly strode over to where Annabelle was sat by herself, checking her phone for any new messages.

“Um, hi, Annabelle,” Jessica said, elegantly smoothing her tight skirt as she sat down next to the Atlanta native.

“Hi honey,” Annabelle replied, giving Jessica a brief, sweet smile before returning her attention to her phone.

“Messaging Jacques?” Jessica asked with a nervous chuckle, before grimacing as Annabelle’s usually friendly face suddenly soured.

“If you want that ‘man’, you’re welcome to him,” Annabelle replied, before putting her phone away and heading into the locker room to change, leaving Jessica sat by herself in a state of near-shock, which she was snapped out of a few seconds later by the returning Rachel.

“Hey,” Rachel said with a smile as she sat down next to Jessica, smoothing her own tight uniform just as Jessica had. “Ready to be a superstar?”

“No,” Jessica moaned. “Have- have you talked to Annabelle recently?”

“Umm, not outside work,” Rachel replied. “She’s not the most talkative person in the world, you know!”

“Trust me, I know,” Jessica laughed. “Just… I think ‘Project Tutu’ might have a new member, that’s all…”

“On the off-chance we ever get back to Paris to confront ‘le connard’,” Rachel laughed. “Another advantage of being on the other side of the Channel!” Jessica smiled as Anna-Jade and Paige also returned, dressed in blue uniforms that were identical to Jessica’s own.

“I hope you two are ready to be superstars!” Rachel said, earning nods and giggles from Paige and Anna-Jade.

“One step at a time,” Anna-Jade laughed as she steadied her blue pillbox hat. “Are the Angels going to be bringing any male models to the launch?” The Irishwoman laughed as her three colleagues playfully ‘booed’ her, but mere minutes later all four of them donned professional smiles as they- along with all their colleagues- stepped out into a roped-off area of the airport. Also stood in their ‘section’ were five more young women, all of whom wore the same iconic blue uniforms but were most definitely not stewardesses, and six other women who wore the same uniform but in a golden colour instead of the usual blue. All of the ‘real’ stewardesses- even Jessica and Annabelle- giggled excitedly as the six golden women introduced themselves, before introducing the real guest of honour- Antoine Masson, the chairman and CEO of Soixante-Trois Airlines.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Monsieur Masson announced. “When my father founded Soixante-Trois Industries fifty-two years ago, he would never have imagined that his son would one day stand in the busiest transport hub in the whole of Europe surrounded by many beautiful women, all of whom were at least twenty years his junior! But nonetheless, here I stand. Soixante-Trois Airlines represents a commitment to true customer service, a belief that your holiday should begin before you arrive at your destination, that just because you have to fly three hours to a business meeting, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t fly in the lap of luxury. The beautiful young women attending to your needs and the skilled young men flying your planes are committed to giving you the flying experience that you deserve, as am I. People of London… Come fly with me!” As Monsieur Masson spread his arms wide, the five ‘stewardesses’ immediately burst into song, singing the old Frank Sinatra classic ‘Come Fly With Me’.

For the next hour, whilst the band entertained the assembled crowd with their singing, the assembled stewardesses (and the six ‘golden stewardesses’) posed for photographs for the press and for Soixante-Trois Airlines’s publicity material. It didn’t come as any surprise to Jessica that Rachel- who had won the ‘Miss Soixante-Trois Airlines’ beauty pageant a few months earlier- was the one employee at the centre of the media’s attention, though all of the stewardesses took their turn having their photograph taken with the celebrities.

After the ‘photoshoot’ was finished, all the women, stewardesses and celebrities alike, were handed tall glasses of champagne that they eagerly drank. Even though she’d been on her feet- in her heels- for hours, Paige still felt excited to be in the presence of the women she’d known from television, and took every opportunity she could get to try to engage them in conversation. Jessica, however, was less eager, choosing instead to keep to herself around the edge of the ‘section’. One figure, though, had no intention of letting Jessica fade into the background.

“Hi,” one of the gold-coloured women- whose nametag read ‘Jamie’ said as she approached Jessica. “You’re… Jessica, right?”

“That’s what the tag says!” Jessica said. “Um, sorry, that sounded a bit cattier than I intended…”

“It’s okay,” Jamie giggled. “That’s such a cool accent, what part of America are you from?”

“Baltimore,” Jessica replied. “Been working for the company for a year now- in Paris, obviously.”

“Do you miss home?” Jamie asked, her eagerness to get to know Jessica plainly apparent.

“Bits of it,” Jessica laughed, before letting out a slow sigh. “I’m sorry, I- I know you’re trying to be friendly, but… I really, really want… Not to be famous. Sorry…”

“Ugh, trust me, it can be a pain at times,” Jamie laughed. “Especially as some days it feels like I’m only famous for being transgendered…”

“You- seriously?” Jessica asked, surveying Jamie’s body for any clue that she was anything other than fully female, and finding nothing.

“Yes, and thank you!” Jamie giggled.

“Um, thank you too, I guess!” Jessica said, making Jamie giggle bashfully.

“I… Didn’t want to ask,” Jamie said, adjusting her gold-coloured pillbox hat. “I mean, yes, I know the company has the reputation of hiring mostly transgendered stewardesses, I was told that something like 60% of the girls here are transitioning…”

“…And some aren’t,” Jessica sighed.

“Really?” Jamie asked. “Umm, feel free to say ‘yes’, but do you mind me asking why not?”

“Ugh, it… It’s complicated,” Jessica sighed. “Something I’d rather not go into with a stranger- no offence.”

“None taken,” Jamie said softly.

“And now, I’m expected to be some sort of ‘real stewardess of London’ as well,” Jessica moaned.

“You know, you CAN opt out of the TV show,” Jamie said. “Though if you don’t mind a bit of friendly advice… Don’t ignore a great opportunity like this when it’s thrust into your hands, because odds are you’ll never get another one.”

“I know, I know,” Jessica sighed. “It’s- it’s just my family, I kinda had a bad coming out, that’s why I’m not transitioning yet, and if I go on TV ‘flaunting my femininity’…”

“Ah, that sucks,” Jamie said. “I take it your family are back in America?”

“Yeah,” Jessica replied. “They said they disapproved because of my brother and sister, who are 17 and 14, but really I think they’re just ashamed of having a child who’s transgendered…”

“My first coming out wasn’t exactly perfect,” Jamie said with a warm smile. “But eventually, my parents came round, now they’re probably my biggest fans. And, more importantly, I had friends who stood by me every step of the way- and so do you.” Jessica smiled as she gazed around the room at her colleagues- or rather, her friends who just happened to work for the same company as her. Anna-Jade, Rachel and even Annabelle were people Jessica could talk to and share her hopes and her worries. Natalie, Zoe and Marie were only ever a phone call away and would always be there for Jessica… And then there was Paige. As much as she was Jessica’s lover, she was also her best friend, and even if the relationship did eventually end, their friendship never would. Jessica was so hung up on the family that had rejected her that she hadn’t realised that she’d become a part of a new family, all of whom she loved unconditionally, and who loved her just as much.

“Thanks,” Jessica said, beaming a genuine smile at Jamie.

“Just call me ‘the wise woman of London’,” Jamie giggled before mingling with the rest of the crowd.

“Oh my god!” Paige excitedly squeaked as she approached Jessica. “What were you and Jamie talking about?”

“…Opportunities,” Jessica said. “Friendship… Sometimes it helps to look at some things from a different perspective, you know?”

“Well it’s good to see you smiling again,” Paige said. “Also, I may… Might have put us on the waiting list for beginner ballet lessons…” Jessica laughed as Paige broke the unexpected news to her.

“It won’t be the same without Zoe teaching us,” Jessica laughed. “But I guess it’s a good way to stare at your butt in skin-tight lycra. And we’ll make new friends too… Can never have too many friends!”

“Very true,” Paige happily sighed. “And your butt’s much cuter in lycra!” Jessica giggled girlishly as the ‘party’ continued late into the afternoon, before the stewardesses were finally allowed to change back into their ‘regular’ clothes and return home.

That night, Jessica and Paige climbed into bed together locked in a passionate embrace, and thoroughly explored every inch of each other's body before falling asleep, still wrapped in each other’s arms. Jessica found it almost impossible to tear her away from Paige’s embrace the following morning, but she had a job to do, and she was determined to do it to the best of her abilities.

When the ‘call light’ went on in the aeroplane, Jessica was the first to reply to it, wearing a professional smile that quickly became genuine when she realised who it was who had called her.

“Mocha latte, one sugar, please,” Jamie said, smiling happily as she recognised the stewardess who was serving her. Jessica quickly and expertly prepared Jamie’s drink, her smile growing ever wider as she served it to her.

“Thank you,” Jamie said politely, taking a sip of her drink.

“No, thank you,” Jessica whispered, before returning to the rear compartment of the aeroplane, smiling for the TV cameras that were recording the flight.

“Was that a smirk I saw, miss ‘I hate reality TV’?” Rachel teased Jessica as the two women began preparing light snacks for the passengers.

“Oh, I still hate reality TV,” Jessica said. “Doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy my job, and it DEFINITELY doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy my life with my friends!”