“Exhausted yet?” Jessica asked Abbey, smiling as the two women returned to the locker room at Charles De Gaulle airport.

“Almost,” Abbey replied, returning Jessica’s smile. “It’s harder work than I expected, though I suppose it would be harder on red, black or grey route…”

“Ehh, red’s not TOO bad,” Jessica replied. “You do get to build up a nice tan!” The two young women giggled as they removed their iconic pillbox hats, followed by their tight blue uniforms, placing them on the coat rack to be cleaned before their next flight. Mere minutes later, both women had changed back into their black pencil dresses ready for their journey back to their respective homes.

“Got anything exciting planned for tonight?” Jessica asked her nineteen year old charge. “Hot date with that young man I saw you holding hands with, maybe…?”

“Need to email my counsellor back,” Abbey replied. “Might be FINALLY prescribed oestrogen…”

“I remember you saying they wouldn’t prescribe it to you in England,” Jessica whispered.

“Stupid NHS,” Abbey spat, before allowing the smile to return to her face. “In happier news, though, you know what’s coming up in a few weeks, right?”

“Um, other than my birthday?” Jessica giggled.

“Oh, it’s your birthday?” Abbey asked. “So cool… Mine’s not until August. Almost as good as that is, I’m sure you’re aware, the seventh annual Miss-“

“Oh no,” Jessica sighed, interrupting the young woman. “Don’t tell me you’ve entered THAT?”

“Oh come on, it’ll be fun!” Abbey pleaded. “You of all people-“

“No- no,” Jessica said, once again interrupting Abbey. “Just because I’m American, don’t assume I automatically approve of things like that!”

“Oh yes,” Abbey laughed. “I almost forgot, the only girl who works for Soixante-Trois who doesn’t even watch The Angels!”

“If you ever catch me anywhere near a reality TV show, shoot me!” Jessica laughed.

“Another American stereotype…” Abbey giggled, earning a stern stare from her mentor.

“…And the same goes for beauty pageants!” Jessica insisted as the two women headed to the nearest tram stop. As she arrived home, Jessica let out a loud sigh as she collapsed down on the plush sofa, kicking off her heels and relaxing as much as her restrictive corset and tight dress would allow.

“Hi honeys, she’s home!” Natalie shouted, laughing hard as Jessica blew a raspberry at her. “Well I say ‘honeys’, in reality it’s just me here right now.”

“Thought Zoe was off today as well?” Jessica asked.

“Oh, she is,” Natalie sighed. “It’s just that she’d rather spend the day wearing a leotard and pointe shoes and dancing at her old studio than spend the day wearing nothing and, well, quote-unquote dancing with me!”

“She teaching part-time again?” Jessica asked.

“Nope,” Natalie explained. “Practising for her talent routine at the seventh annual-“

“Goddddd,” Jessica moaned. “Not you too…”

“Well, no, not ME,” Natalie laughed, sitting down next to the frustrated American woman. “But Zoe… She’s always loved performing, you know that. And ever since we got bollocked in December… She’s wanted to find a way back into the good books of the head honchos, the Miss Soixante-Trois pageant is the ideal opportunity for that.”

“Why on Earth does a company like this even HAVE a beauty pageant?” Jessica asked.

“Ugh,” Natalie spat. “Officially, it’s to ‘empower our female employees’. Unofficially, it’s because Antoine Masson is as much a pervert as he is a billionaire and the thought of several women in their twenties parading around in swimsuits gives him that, you know, ‘funny feeling’.”

“Even when some of these women aren’t ‘technically’ women?” Jessica asked, a smile creeping onto her face.

“Well, there’s nothing he can really do about that,” Natalie said. “Thank you EU Supreme Court…”

“Did you enter last year?” Jessica asked the English girl.

“Nah,” Natalie said. “I mean, I’m not going to begrudge Zo for wanting to enter, she loves the limelight and all, but… It IS a bit too silly even for my tastes.”

“Damn right!” Jessica giggled.

“Elsa entered, though,” Natalie continued. “So did Anna-Jade, but I don’t think she enjoyed it all that much. Marie entered in 2012, actually finished runner-up. I know for a fact Rachel’s entering this year, so are Chloe and Clara, and Annabelle…” Jessica’s ears pricked up at the mention of the Atlanta native- something Natalie couldn’t help but comment on.

“Ah, thought that might interest you,” Natalie chuckles. “Yep, she told me she was entering when we went to Moscow yesterday.”

“…She’s black route now?” Jessica asked. “Thought she’d got red route as her secondary when she got promoted?”

“Think she’s doing all three,” Natalie sighed. “Though no prizes for guessing who was sat in the co-pilot’s seat yesterday… AND who’ll be sat on the judging panel for the pageant.”

“Um, hello?” Jessica asked sarcastically. “Conflict of interest, maybe?”

“It’s not what you know, it’s always been WHO you know,” Natalie sighed, before returning to the apartment’s small kitchen to prepare their dinner. Soon, the girls returned to the apartment- first Zoe, followed by Anna-Jade and finally Paige, who greeted her American lover with a long kiss.

“How was Berlin?” Jessica asked as she snuggled up next to Paige on the sofa.

“How was London?” Paige giggled, linking her slender, smooth fingers with Jessica’s.

“Same as always,” Jessica sighed happily. “Abbey’s still struggling a little, but I reckon she’ll have got the hang of it within a few weeks.”

“Ah, can’t say as I envy you,” Paige laughed. “Having to take responsibility for another employee in addition to your own work…”

“Normally I’d advise you to apply to be a mentor yourself,” Jessica laughed. “But you do kinda have a lot on your plate right now… Or should I say ‘in your medicine cabinet’?”

“And you know what I’ll say to you there,” Paige sighed as her thoughts turned to the hormone tablets that were sat in her drawer in the bathroom.

“No regrets?” Jessica asked her dark-haired lover.

“None,” Paige whispered with a smile. And she meant it- ever since she started hormone replacement therapy ten weeks earlier, she’d felt like a whole new woman. At first, the changes had been scary- her mood would unexpectedly change at a moment’s notice, she’d find herself getting emotional over the smallest things… And she found herself less and less interested in sex with Jessica. As her body began to adapt to her new chemistry, however, Paige began to enjoy every day more and more. For the first time in her life, she began to feel right in herself- as though the first twenty and a half years of her life were a draft copy, a rehearsal, and only with oestrogen flowing through her veins did she feel like her life was complete.

The physical changes were taking longer, much to Paige’s frustration- her breasts hadn’t grown in any noticeable way, though they had grown increasingly sensitive since she began taking oestrogen. Her waist hadn’t significantly narrowed, nor had her hips widened, and what little facial hair she had still grew- though laser removal treatments were taking care of that.

Paige found herself frequently frustrated with many aspects of her ‘transformation’, but a near-constant source of support was Anna-Jade. The Irish girl had begun her own transition six months earlier, had already taken all the steps Paige was taking and was on hand to help her every time she ‘stumbled’ on her journey. But as much as Paige appreciated Anna-Jade’s constant support… She really wished that it was Jessica who was helping her on her journey.

As Jessica stared at the dark-haired Scottish girl snuggled up next to her, she felt both a twinge of sadness and a twinge of regret. Unlike Paige, her encounter with her parents had shaken her commitment to transitioning, rather than reinforced it. She’d spoken to her counsellor since returning from America, but every time she tried to reconcile her desire to live life as a female with her need for her family’s approval, she hit a mental roadblock. Jessica saw how happy and content Paige was ever since she’d started taking oestrogen, and she wanted that contentment in her life, but at the same time, she heard how Paige called her family every week without fail, how they happily referred to her as ‘daughter’ and ‘our little girl’… And Jessica knew that she would never receive the same level of love and acceptance from her own family.

“So then,” Paige asked with a giggle. “Are you going to enter it?”

“Hmm?” Jessica muttered as she was abruptly snapped out of her daydream. “Oh, the pageant? HELL no! You know I hate everything like that…”

“But you’re the most gorgeous girl in the world,” Paige laughed, rubbing her nylon-covered leg against Jessica’s. “You’d knock ‘em dead…”

“There’s a talent round,” Jessica argued. “I don’t HAVE any talent…”

“You can play the piano, can’t you?” Anna-Jade said as she sat down on the sofa opposite the couple.

“I haven’t practised in ages!” Jessica moaned. “And besides, I’m NOT entering the pageant. I’m busy enough with work, I’ve got Abbey’s end of probation party to plan for… And besides, Zoe’s entering, it just wouldn’t feel right.”

“Because you know you’d beat her, right?” Paige laughed.

“No,” Jessica argued. “Well- maybe. If you’re so enthusiastic about this damned pageant, why don’t YOU enter?”

“Because I’m not tall, blonde and gorgeous,” Paige replied, slipping her hand into the back pocket of Jessica’s skirt. “Seriously, you’d be a shoo-in for at least the top 3.”

“And you’d beat Annabelle hands down!” Anna-Jade laughed, making Jessica squirm at the mention of the Atlanta native.

“So basically,” Jessica sighed, “the only way I’m going to get you off my back about this is to just enter and have done with it?”

“Yes!” Anna-Jade and Paige said simultaneously.

“FINE then,” Jessica sighed, making her two companions cheer and applaud. “But I’m not taking it seriously and I’m NOT playing to win. Zoe wants it more, she can have it.”

“You won’t regret this,” Anna-Jade said with a smile.

“I already am,” Jessica sighed as the Irish girl began detailing the steps they would take to turn Jessica from a glamorous stewardess into a bona fide beauty queen.

Over the next two weeks leading up to the pageant, Jessica found herself devoting every second of her free time to practising for the show. When she wasn’t flying back and forth between Paris and when felt like every city in Western Europe, or advising and assessing Abbey in the final days of her probation, Jessica would receive instruction from Paige and Anna-Jade on how to improve her deportment, the proper facial expressions and body language to use on stage… Much of what Jessica ‘learned’ she already knew- she’d had a lifetime of practice of walking in heels, how to fix her own hair and make-up, how to walk in a long, floor-length dress… But every feminine mannerism she’d perfected for use in her everyday life seemingly had to be exaggerated when up on her stage. Her hips had to sway more, her lips had to pout more, her walk had to be more feminine, with one foot placed directly in front of the other with every step… And Jessica felt more and more ridiculous with every single ‘training session’.

What Jessica didn’t realise, however, was that Zoe was struggling just as much with her own preparation for the pageant. Even though she had been born female, she would have to exaggerate her own femininity just as much as Jessica would, and whilst Zoe was used to performing on stage, the performance she would have to give was a far cry from the performing she had done in the past.

“Turn,” Natalie advised Zoe as Marie watched approvingly. “Smile for the judges!” Zoe turned her head and forced a wide smile onto her lips, before swishing her long, flowing dress in front of her and striding away from her sister and her lover.

“You’re gonna need to make the smile more convincing than that,” Marie said in a sympathetic voice. “They’re absolute sticklers for perfectionism, pick up on every tiny thing, no matter how silly you think it is.”

“Can we run through my talent routine again?” Zoe asked as she stripped off her gown and reached for her pointe shoes.

“We’ve run through it a hundred times, you already know it back to front!” Marie laughed. “Put your dress back on, we’ll run through the catwalk section again. Only two days to go until the big day…”

“Okay,” Zoe moaned, pulling her dress back on. “Still can’t believe Jess entered too…”

“You’ve not got anything to worry about from her,” Natalie assured her lover. “You’re a hundred times more beautiful and talented than she is. Besides, she isn’t even taking it seriously… She might actually help you by being in the competition.”

“Yeah, right…” Zoe sighed. “Where’s my maillot gone?”

“Natalie…” Marie asked accusingly.

“What?” Natalie pleaded with mock-innocence. “Just because I’m not in the pageant, doesn’t mean I can’t ‘enjoy the benefits’.”

“You’ll stretch it!” Zoe moaned as Natalie lifted her top to show Zoe the stretchy material.

“It’s a black neoprene swimsuit,” Natalie argued. “You’ve got plenty more, and if you’d just let me borrow one of your ballet leotards once in a while…”

“Something wrong with your own ballet leotards?” Zoe asked, smiling as Natalie encircled her tiny waist from behind.

“They’re not YOURS,” Natalie said, cuddling Zoe’s body close to her.

“Get a room,” Marie playfully admonished the two lovers. “And Natalie, take off Zoe’s swimsuit.”

“Can do!” Natalie laughed, pulling off her top and skirt.

“Not here!” Marie hissed, before bursting into fits of laughter. “Go into your room!”

“Can also do!” Natalie laughed, taking Zoe by the hand and leading her away from the sighing Marie. The couple returned ten minutes later, causing Marie to shake her head with frustration as she saw that Zoe was wearing her pageant swimsuit… And Natalie was wearing the dress Zoe had worn mere minutes earlier. Worst of all- from Marie’s perspective- was that both young women were covered in a fine sheen of sweat.

“What?” Zoe asked with a shrug. “It helps me relax, helps me concentrate…”

“Jess isn’t the only one not taking this seriously,” Marie mumbled as her sister reached for her pointe shoes.

“…What?” Zoe asked again, tying the satin dancing shoes to her feet.

“And you don’t need to practice your dancing!” Marie said in an exasperated voice.

“I’ve hardly had any chance to dance over the last six months!” Zoe argued.

“Babe,” Natalie said softly. “Over the last two weeks, you’ve hardly done anything besides dance…”

“So I missed dancing!” Zoe sighed, her own voice filled with exasperation. “Get off my back, both of you!”

“Zoe…” Marie whispered, slowly approaching her agitated sister. “Please, tell me what’s wrong…”

“Ugh,” Zoe moaned, slumping into the nearest chair. “I- I should never have quit teaching… It’s going to be two years before I can apply for a promotion thanks to this fucking warning, all of our passengers are morons...” Zoe sighed and let out a solitary tear as Natalie and Marie sat either side of her, giving the distraught girl a comforting cuddle.

“This is gonna sound silly…” Zoe sighed. “But… I kinda wish I was, you know, a T-girl, like you, or Jessica, or Paige or Anna-Jade.”

“Believe me, it’s really not a lot of fun at times,” Natalie said.

“But most of the time, it is,” Zoe replied. “I step on a plane wearing a uniform and it’s just, you know, nothing… You pull on the skirt and the high heels and it’s a lifelong dream.”

“You could always try living as a boy for a few days,” Natalie joked, earning herself a playful elbow from her lover.

“Eww,” Zoe said, scrunching up her nose. “No thank you!”

“Well,” Marie said, “What’s your lifelong dream?”

“That,” Zoe sighed, pointing at the pointe shoes tied to her feet. “Remember the day I got my first pair?”

“How could I forget?” Marie laughed. “You wouldn’t take them off for days… You should go back to teaching.”

“It’s about half what I get paid now,” Zoe moaned. “And I’ve already checked, none of the local schools are hiring…”

“Then go to university,” Natalie advised. “Get a degree- I know you’re smart enough- get a teaching qualification, I know you’d be a great primary school teacher. Or whatever the French equivalent of primary school is. Or we could always move back to England and you could teach French…”

“Yeah, as if mama and papa will agree to that!” Marie laughed. “Although if you DID leave the company, you’d lose all the company benefits… The pension, the staff discount… The parties…” Zoe smiled at the mention of the party.

“I guarantee Jessica put more effort into the party tomorrow than she put into the pageant,” Natalie reassured her lover. “So work hard today, party hard tomorrow, win hard on Tuesday!”

“Party hard AFTER your flight to St Petersburg!” Marie joked, making Zoe laugh out loud. “Now run through your routine again!” Zoe grinned a wide, genuine grin as she stood up and elegantly rose onto pointe, flawlessly performing the dance routine that she herself had choreographed for the performance. The following day, Zoe would fly to St Petersburg with a smile on her face, despite her uniform being as uncomfortable and the passengers being as obnoxious as ever. When she returned to her Paris apartment, she discovered that the party was already in full swing- and that her flat mates had become almost unrecognisable.

“This feels so stupid,” Paige complained as she stripped down to her bra and thong, holding her arms out either side of her body. “The emergency exits are located here…”

“Oh hilarious,” Jessica mock-laughed. “And stop complaining about feeling stupid, remember what I’m going to be doing tomorrow?”

“Turning 23?” Paige asked, prompting her American lover to stick her tongue out at her. “Okay, let’s get this over with…” Paige grimaced as Jessica raised her gun and pointed it straight at Paige’s face. Jessica pulled the trigger… And Paige winced as a steady stream of fake tan covered her naturally pale body from top to bottom. Once Jessica was done, Paige stepped off the sheet that had been erected in the apartment’s bathroom and walked over the mirror, where her jaw dropped at the sight of her reflection.

“…I’m fucking orange!” Paige gasped. “You’ve turned me fucking orange! Give me that gun!” Jessica giggled as she passed Paige the spray-tan gun, before standing on the sheet, allowing the dark-haired girl to coat her with the same thick, dark spray tan.

“I hope this will all come off before tomorrow…” Jessica mumbled.

“Don’t tell me you’re finally taking it seriously?” Paige asked.

“NO,” Jessica argued. “…Maybe a little.”

“You know they don’t publish the full standings, right?” Paige asked. “Just the top three… You’ll never know for certain whether or not you beat her.”

“I’m not too fussed about beating her,” Jessica confessed, before sighing. “I just don’t want her to beat me…”

“How could she?” Paige asked, giving Jessica a soft kiss on her lips. “I mean… Look at you!”

“Look at HER,” Jessica sighed. “She’s the one who got the fastest promotion ever, the one who’s still somehow with Jacques two months on…”

“Should I be jealous or something?” Paige asked. “And in the last six months, have you tried to get to know her even ONCE?” Paige winced as Jessica suddenly whipped around to face her with a look of pure irritation on her face.

“Should I be the jealous one?” Jessica asked. Paige opened her mouth as if to respond, but no words left her mouth and she stood in front of Jessica slack-jawed. The awkward silence was thankfully broken a few moments later when Natalie entered the room, dressed only in her bra and thong, and took Jessica’s place on the sheet.

“Awight then!” Natalie said in a mock Essex accent. “Tango me!” Paige sighed as Jessica exited the bathroom, leaving her to spray-tan Natalie in relative peace.

“Trouble in paradise?” Natalie asked in her native Manchester accent.

“Do not fucking ask…” Paige sighed. “Annabelle. AGAIN.” Within moments, Natalie had been covered in a liberal layer of fake tan, and minutes later Anna-Jade and Marie took their places in front of the spray nozzle, with Zoe the last to receive the ‘treatment’ immediately upon her return from Russia. Once the girls were all suitably tanned, they returned to their rooms to apply their make-up for the party- and there was a lot of it. Thick foundation almost threatened to disguise their new tans, whilst thick eyeliner, neon pink eye shadow and long, heavy false eyelashes enhanced their eyes far beyond what their regular work make-up could ever accomplish. The girls plucked and reshaped their eyebrows to perfection, before applying multiple layers of hot pink lip gloss to their mouths. With their make-up done, next came their nails- long, fake acrylic nails that extended over an inch beyond their fingertips, making delicate use of their fingers virtually impossible. Their jewellery was next- Natalie had taken charge of arranging the girls’ jewellery for the party, so all six of them wore long, gaudy earrings that pulled on their earlobes, as well as cheap sparkly necklaces and tacky plastic bracelets. The girls’ dresses were next- tight white dresses that were easily a size too small for them and barely contained their breasts and their backsides, and finally came the girls’ shoes- white stilettos with a 6.5” platform heel that all six women struggled to walk in at first, requiring additional practice before emerging from their rooms and congregating in the living room of the apartment. Anna-Jade, Natalie and Zoe had all donned bright platinum blonde wigs for the party, and all six girls had bottles of WKD in their hands.

“Girls,” Jessica announced in a near-authentic South-Eastern English accent, “what is the only way?”

“Essex!” The six girls all cheered in unison as they drank their drinks, waiting for the guests to arrive.

Within half an hour, the apartment was teeming with over twenty men and women, all of whom had adhered to the ‘Essex boy/girl’ dress code- especially Abbey, for whom the party was being thrown.

“OMG!” Abbey yelled in Jessica’s ear as she emerged from the bathroom, clad in her own white dress, white stilettos and thick fake tan. “This is totes amazeballs!”

“Glad you approve!” Jessica replied. “Thank Natalie- she’s the one who came up with the idea, did a lot of the hard work for it… She should have been your mentor, not me.”

“I’ll deffo thank her!” Abbey said, before grabbing a brightly-coloured alcoholic beverage from a nearby table and mingling with the rest of the crowd. Jessica smiled as she watched her ‘pupil’ dance away, before turning to get herself a drink, only to bump into a tall figure that was dressed identically to herself.

“Oh, jeez, sorry,” Jessica said. “Are you okay… Annabelle?” Much to Jessica’s irritation, the blonde Southerner simply smiled her usual sweet, smug smile.

“That’s okay, sweetie,” Annabelle said, before an awkward silence hung between the two American women. “I love your party, got a Canadian-themed one planned for Sarah this Saturday…”

“Your- your trainee was Canadian?” Jessica asked.

“Uh-huh,” Annabelle confirmed. “’Scuse me, honey…” Jessica seethed with anger as Annabelle brushed past her- anger that her Scottish lover immediately picked up on.

“Oh god,” Paige sighed as she approached Jessica. “I’ve already seen her here, don’t tell me you had a run-in?”

“Uh-huh,” Jessica said, mocking Annabelle’s Georgia accent. “’Scuse me, honey’… Gah. Did you know she got a Canadian trainee? Probably the only one from North America in the whole training group and she gets her instead of me…”

“But you an Abbey got on really well!” Paige retorted. “Besides, everyone knows you’re a huge Europhile, so do management… Maybe they knew you’d be comfortable with a Brit but she might not be…”

“AND she’s organised a party for her trainee on Saturday,” Jessica spat. “Know any other parties, birthday parties that are happening on that date?”

“How could she have known that it was your party that date when you never speak to her?” Paige pleaded.

“Take her side, why don’t you?” Jessica snapped, before sighing and burying her face in her hands. “Oh god, Paige… I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…”

“And they said the oestrogen would cause mood swings,” Paige mumbled, sniffing away a solitary tear.

“Can- can we talk in private?” Jessica asked, her stomach knotting at the sight of her lover being upset- and the knowledge that it was she who made Paige upset.

“Sure,” Paige whispered, following Jessica into their bedroom. “Jess…”

“Ever since you started taking oestrogen, it’s like you’ve become a whole new person,” Jessica said.

“Um, yeah, that’s kinda the idea!” Paige chuckled nervously. “…Thanks?”

“I didn’t mean it as a compliment,” Jessica said coldly. “You’re different… You’re… You’re not the woman I fell in love with.”

“I’m more the woman you fell in love with than ever!” Paige said, more tears beginning to form in her heavily made-up eyes. “Just because your family haven’t accepted you yet, don’t take it out on me!”

“You leave my family out of this!” Jessica snapped.

“Don’t you shout at me!” Paige snapped back, before taking a deep breath and calming her nerves. “You’ve changed too, and not for the better. I- I can’t handle this constant jealousy. Why don’t you just TALK to her, for Christ’s sake?”

“We’re never on the same flights,” Jessica muttered. “They don’t put two people from the same nationality on the same flight unless they’re French or from the country they’re flying to, you know that!”

“Then talk to her some other time!” Paige yelled. “She out there right fucking now, what’s stopping you!?”

“Because I’d rather be with you!” Jessica yelled, before withering under Paige’s angry glare.

“Well I’d rather NOT be with you,” Paige spat, storming out of the bedroom and leaving Jessica alone in the dark.

Jessica took several deep breaths, but even this wasn’t enough to prevent her eyes from flooding with tears. The blonde girl doubled over in pain, her stomach churning as the adrenaline caused by the fight thinned in her blood. For weeks, she’d feared growing apart from Paige… Now it seemed as though their relationship had been terminated. Paige wasn’t Jessica’s first girlfriend, but she was the one Jessica had been with the longest, and the only woman with whom she had fallen in love at first sight. Jessica’s attraction to the Scottish girl had been so overwhelming that she’d never stopped to consider whether or not they were truly compatible. Now Jessica had an answer to that question- and it wasn’t the answer she was hoping for.

Jessica remained in the darkened room for ten minutes, composing herself before fixing her make-up and returning to the party, only to find that Paige was nowhere to be seen- and much to Jessica’s fear, neither was Annabelle.

“Hey,” Natalie said cautiously to Jessica. “You- you okay?”

“No,” Jessica sighed. “Where- where’s Paige?”

“She went home with Hiromi,” Natalie explained. “Said she needed a few days away… Jess, what happened?”

“Where’s Annabelle?” Jessica asked in an angry tone.

“She left at the same time as Paige,” Natalie whispered, bringing a look of pure fury to the American girl’s face.

“Of course she fucking did,” Jessica sighed. “Nat… I’m going to head to bed now. Need to clear my head. Can you…”

“Sure,” Natalie whispered, staring at the American girl with a sympathetic eye before returning to the party, which was still in full swing despite the departures.

“Soooo, Abbey,” Zoe asked, “gonna get your application in for mentor for August?”

“God, I dunno, maybe,” Abbey sighed. “Jess was such a great mentor… It’ll be hard to follow in her footsteps!” Zoe giggled, before spotting Natalie out of the corner of her eye and excusing herself.

“I hate her,” Zoe whispered to her lover as she stumbled over to her, wobbling on her extra-high heels.

“You’re also really drunk, “ Natalie said, wrapping an arm around Zoe’s waist to support her. “And Abbey!? Why, exactly?”

“Ugh, she’s so phoney,” Zoe complained.

“She’s from Essex, what did you expect?” Natalie laughed. “It wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact that she was one of the first 19 year olds to be hired after they lowered the minimum age limit, would it?”

“No,” Zoe spat, before rolling her eyes. “Maybe… Ugh. I just hate everything to do with this job…”

“Get some sleep,” Natalie advised the inebriated young woman. “A- you’ll feel better in the morning, B- you’ll need it ahead of tomorrow night!”

“Okay,” Zoe mumbled, before stumbling toward hers & Natalie’s room, where she quickly fell into a deep sleep.

The party dispersed shortly afterwards as many of the partygoers- including two of the apartment’s residents- had early flights. Zoe was already asleep by the time Natalie stripped off her dress, wig and heels and climbed into bed next to her, but the frown on her slumbering face made Natalie sigh sadly. When she’d signed up for Soixante-Trois Airlines, she’d expected a life filled with glamour, excitement and adventure- everything she’d dreamed of ever since she was a boy. She’d grown up idolising the flight attendants she saw in old movies and on TV shows, and whilst it wasn’t the only ‘service’ uniform she’d grown up wishing she could wear- she’d ‘experimented’ with French maid’s dresses and playboy bunny costumes numerous times in her youth- the classic tight skirt of the flight attendant was the only one that was within her grasp, thanks to Soixante-Trois Airlines cowing to the demands of the EU supreme court. Not just being able to live life as a woman, but being obliged to live and work as not just a woman, but a sexy, glamorous woman was a dream come true for Natalie… A dream that only improved when she moved in with Marie and met Zoe for the first time. ‘Ballerina’ was another fantasy of Natalie’s, but it was always one that Natalie felt was beyond her reach, so when Zoe accepted Natalie’s romantic advances, Natalie’s dream come true improved in ways she could never have imagined. But then something completely unexpected happened- Natalie fell in love with Zoe. Madly, deeply, head over heels in love with the French girl. And to see Zoe hurting… It broke Natalie’s heart.

“I love you,” Natalie whispered in Zoe’s hear, before wrapping her arms around the sleeping girl’s waist and quickly falling into her own deep sleep.

Jessica awoke on the morning of her 23rd birthday and rolled over in bed, momentarily confused by Paige’s absence, but as her head cleared, the events of the previous night came rushing back, causing Jessica to lay back on her pillow and let out a long, silent scream.

“Morning, sleepyhead,” Natalie said to Jessica as the American girl padded down the stairs into the kitchen. “Oh, sorry- happy birthday!”

“Not really,” Jessica moaned.

“You and Paige are NOT finished!” Natalie assured Jessica. “You’ve just had a ‘blip’, that’s all…”

“Hell of a big ‘blip’,” Jessica sighed. “Where’s Zoe, she still in bed?”

“Yeah,” Natalie sighed. “She had a hell of a lot to drink last night… Damn Essex drinks, they’re so sweet-tasting you can’t even tell they’re alcoholic most of the time. Marie and Anna-Jade have already left, they’ve got flights today, obviously Zoe and I have got the day off to prepare for tonight…”

“Ugh,” Jessica moaned. “That’s my ‘support team’ all gone, then- I can hardly ask Paige to help… Whatever. I didn’t want to be in this stupid pageant anyway, I’ll just call in and say I’ve got the flu or something. I’ve got the next couple of days off as well anyway…”

“For your birthday?” Natalie asked, sighing as Jessica nodded. “Well, if you want… It WOULD be a shame to let all the preparation go to waste, you spent all that money on your swimsuit, your dress…”

“Like I can’t use a swimsuit,” Jessica laughed. “Or a long, fancy dress…”

“Well, it’s up to you, I guess,” Natalie said. “I won’t be the one to point out that you’d be conceding defeat to you-know-who…”

“No- just- no,” Jessica hissed. “Don’t play the ‘Annabelle card’ unless you’re willing to back it up.”

“Fine,” Natalie conceded. “What have you got planned for today? Other than opening presents, that is?”

“I’m going to go and see Paige,” Jessica said firmly.

“Eesh,” Natalie grimaced. “Are you sure that’s such a good idea?”

“Nope,” Jessica said, finishing her coffee and standing up. “But I’m going to anyway.” Jessica immediately headed for the bathroom, barely stopping to acknowledge Zoe’s ‘bon anniversaire’. Jessica thrust herself under the shower, washing away the memories- and the fake tan- of the previous night, before dressing for the day. Even though she wasn’t at work, Jessica still laced herself into one of her tight underbust corsets, before pulling on a plain black bra and thong set and applying a light layer of make-up. Rather than clip a pair of stockings to her corset, Jessica instead went bare-legged, pulling on a soft, casual grey miniskirt and a loose blue top. As always, Jessica left her lipstick until last, but as she reached into her dresser drawer for one of her multiple scarlet lipsticks, she paused, before staring over at Paige’s side of the dresser. In what had become almost a tradition, the two lovers would sit side by side as they applied their make-up (when they were on flights on the same day, anyway), both leaving their lipstick until last so they could ‘blot’ their lipstick on each other’s lips. Jessica had to blink back tears as she reached into Paige’s drawer for one of her scarlet lipsticks, sighing happily as she twirled the wet, red tube out of its holder and applied it to her own lips over and over again.

“I’m heading out now,” Jessica announced to Natalie and Zoe, not even waiting for their response before leaving the apartment and heading to the nearest tram stop. Within minutes, Jessica found herself outside the front door of Paige’s old apartment, the place where she’d lived when she’d first moved to Paris nine long months ago.

“This is a bad idea,” Jessica whispered to herself, before knocking on the door. Much to Jessica’s relief, it wasn’t Paige herself who answered, but Hiromi- the Japanese transgendered girl who used to be Paige’s room-mate.

“Jessica?” Hiromi asked. “Are- are you here for Paige? Because she’s not here…”

“Where’s she gone?” Jessica asked.

“Work,” Hiromi said nervously. “She swapped a shift… I’m sorry, Jessica. She- she said that she needed some time to herself.”

“Well,” Jessica said, simultaneously relieved and disappointed by Paige’s absence, “if you do see her, please tell her-“ Jessica paused as she saw an unexpected figure in the background that caused bile to rise in her throat. There, exiting the bedroom that used to be Paige’s, was the unmistakable figure of Annabelle Cope.

“…Never mind,” Jessica said, turning her back on the Japanese girl and heading straight back to the tram to her apartment.

It was just a coincidence… Jessica tried to persuade herself. Annabelle being in Paige’s apartment- it was just a coincidence, surely? Annabelle didn’t even like Paige, COULDN’T even like Paige- she was seeing Jacques Lacroix, though that wasn’t exactly a relationship that had ‘long term’ written all over it…

“Didn’t go well, then?” Natalie asked Jessica as the American girl returned home, all but slamming the front door behind her.

“Guess who was there?” Jessica asked.

“What, Annabelle?” Natalie said. “She’s been living with Hiromi for months now.”

“I thought that girl from Luxembourg, um, Karla was her room-mate?” Jessica asked, confused and frustrated that Natalie would know information that she herself didn’t.

“She moved to Berlin a few months ago,” Natalie explained.

“Yeah,” Zoe confirmed. “Annabelle moved in in February.” Jessica screwed her face up in frustration at the revelation that Zoe also knew about Annabelle’s living arrangements.

“It would’ve been nice if I’d been told this before I went over there,” Jessica moaned.

“If you hadn’t stormed out the way you did, I’m sure it would have come up,” Natalie shrugged, before sighing as Jessica slumped backward on the chair, her figure that of an utterly defeated woman. “Oh, cheer up…”

“It IS your birthday,” Zoe giggled, before reaching into a nearby closet and pulling out an armful of presents.

“Oh- thanks guys,” Jessica sighed happily. “You really didn’t need to go to all this trouble…”

“It’s your first birthday as Jessica, isn’t it?” Natalie asked. “You spoiled the hell out of me for mine last November, seems only fair to return the favour!”

“It’s also my worst birthday ever so far,” Jessica moaned.

“Then get opening!” Zoe laughed, shaking a present in the American girl’s face. “Presents make the world better!” Jessica giggled as she tore open the brightly-coloured wrapping paper, sighing happily at every present she received from the two lovers. For her previous birthday, her 22nd, Jessica had received all the presents she, as Jesse, was supposed to want- pairs of jeans, men’s toiletry sets containing aftershave, deodorants… When all she really wanted was skirts, lingerie, perfume, cosmetics… All of which were contained in the packages Natalie and Zoe handed her. And yet, Jessica still felt sad. Her previous birthday had been spent in her family home in Baltimore- not only was her 23rd birthday her first spent as Jessica, it was also her first spent away from her family home, and with the way she’d burned her bridges with her family in February, it would also be the first birthday where she had no contact with her family whatsoever. As much as Jessica appreciated her girly gifts, she’d trade them all just to have the acceptance and love of her family… Or one more night with Paige.

“Thank you both so, so much,” Jessica gushed as she sat amongst a pile of presents and discarded wrapping paper.

“Still the worst birthday ever?” Zoe asked with a laugh.

“…In fairness, my others were REALLY good,” Jessica giggled.

“More importantly,” Zoe probed, “Are you still pulling out of the pageant tonight?” Jessica met Zoe’s intense stare and couldn’t help but giggle, despite her emotional turmoil.

“No,” Jessica laughed, prompting cheers from her room-mates.

“You’d better start getting ready, then,” Natalie advised. “Show’s at 7pm…” Jessica smiled as she headed to her bedroom, her arms filled with her new cosmetics, and set about the task of transforming herself from a glamorous stewardess to a fully-fledged beauty queen…

Paige let out a long sigh as she stepped into the locker room at Charles De Gaulle airport, fresh from a return flight to Glasgow. Her feet hurt from standing in her high heels all day, her back hurt from where she’d had to tie her own corset and her chest hurt from where her falsies had rubbed against her throughout the flight. What hurt most, however, was Paige’s heart.

Unlike Jessica, Paige had never had any prior serious relationships. She’d never held any attraction to men, and the only attraction she felt toward women was toward the exotic attire they would wear… But then, on her first day of work for Soixante-Trois, she met Jessica, and her world turned upside-down. The feelings that Paige had for Jessica were new, intense and exciting, and over the prior nine months, Paige had eagerly explored every aspect of her relationship with Jessica, both physical and emotional. She’d even introduced the American girl to her parents- and earned their approval- but at the back of Paige’s mind had always been a niggling doubt, a feeling that what the two of them had was little more than a physical attraction pretending to be true love- and the argument they’d had the previous night had just cemented that doubt in Paige’s mind.

After changing back into the pencil dress she’d borrowed from Hiromi for her commute, Paige headed to the nearby tram stop for her journey home. Once on board, Paige pulled her phone out of her bag and checked for any new messages, before opening a new message for Jessica.

‘Hi Jess,’ Paige typed. ‘Hope you’re having a happy birthday… Can we talk about last night, please? P.’ Paige’s thumb hovered over the ‘send’ button as she read and re-read the message over and over again, ensuring that it was perfect, that it wasn’t too conciliatory but at the same time not too aloof. As she went to push the ‘send’ button Paige looked up, staring at the Parisian scenery rushing by, and realised immediately that she was on the wrong tram- she’d instinctively got onto the tram going to Jessica’s apartment rather than the one to her old- or rather, her current- apartment.

Paige paused, unsure of what to do- it wouldn’t be too much of a hassle to hop off the tram at the next stop, head back to the airport and get on the ‘right’ tram- it’d only cost Paige about 20 minutes to correct her mistake. However, Paige reasoned that there had to have been a reason why she subconsciously got on the tram to Jessica’s apartment- maybe deep down, she really wanted to see Jessica?

As the tram pulled up to the second stop after the airport, Paige made up her mind. She deleted the text message and put her phone back into her bag, and as the tram pulled up to the stop nearest Jessica’s apartment, Paige stood up confidently, straightened her dress and strode out of the packed carriage, heading straight for the front door where she let herself in with her key.

“Hello?” Paige called. “Jess? Nat? Zoe?” Paige switched the living room light on, and her attention was immediately drawn to a note, written in English, on the coffee table.

‘Marie/Anna-Jade,’ the note read. ‘Gone to pageant. Not left a meal so you’ll need to get takeaway. Back later.’ Paige bristled at the implication that she’d been so easily forgotten by the rest of the household, that they’d continued with their lives as though she’d never been a part of them. Paige tried her hardest to put such negative thoughts to the back of her mind, however- she’d not given the women any indication that she would be back at any point today, and all five women were still her friends… Even Jessica. ESPECIALLY Jessica. Taking a deep breath, Paige climbed the stairs into the room that was hers and Jessica’s bedroom, gingerly opening the door and staring into the darkened room. It was just as she’d left it the previous night- clothes and underwear strewn all over the floor, make-up littering the top of the dresser… What was out of the ordinary, however, was a note pinned to one of the pillows on the bed- Paige’s pillow- with the letter ‘P’ written on it.

‘I don’t know if you’ll ever read this message,’ the note read. ‘But just on the off-chance that you do come back and I’m out, I just want you to know how sorry I am for last night. I love you, Paige. I always will. Talk soon. J.’ Tears began to well in Paige’s eyes as she read the message, and she immediately knew what she had to do. Without any further hesitation, Paige scooped up her bag and her keys and- taking care to lock the front door behind her- headed straight back to the nearest tram stop.

Jessica breathed a nervous, shallow breath as she waited backstage with thirteen other young women, each one- including Jessica herself- dressed in the iconic Soixante-Trois uniform that they wore day in, day out in their working lives.

“Eeee!” Abbey squeaked, barely able to keep herself from bouncing up and down with excitement. “This is so cool!”

“Yeah,” Jessica said, forcing an enthusiastic smile on her face when all she felt in reality was a mixture of nerves and a disbelief of the situation in which she found herself. The one consolation Jessica had was that the pageant wasn’t going to be a huge event- out of an employee pool of nearly 200 women (including woman ‘like Jessica’), only fourteen had entered the pageant, most of whom had, like Jessica and Abbey, only worked for the company for less than a year. The venue wasn’t even that big, either- a conference room in one of Soixante-Trois's hotels that little larger than the average bar, with just enough room for a stage and seating for 30 guests (most of whom were middle-aged businessmen- undoubtedly friends of Antoine Masson, the owner of Soixante-Trois Airlines).

“Madames et monsieurs,” the emcee- a man in his thirties who Jessica recognised as one of Soixante-Trois’s regular pilots- announced. “I would like to welcome you all to the seventh annual Miss Soixante-Trois beauty pageant!” On cue, modern-sounding music started playing, and the fourteen contestants strode out on stage in formation, placing one hand on their hip before turning and smiling for the assembled crowd.

“These fourteen young women,” the emcee continued, “will tonight compete for your votes. There will be four ‘rounds’- the uniform round, the swimwear round, the evening wear round and the talent competition. Our expert panel of judges will give each girl a score from one to ten, which will make up 50% of their overall score. The rest, madames et monsieurs, is up to you! Simply vote for your favourite using the voting slips you were given at reception, and the winner will take away the grand prize of 6300 Euros and, more importantly, the title of Miss Soixante-Trois 2015!” 6300 Euros? Jessica thought to herself. Wish I’d known that a little earlier…

“Now,” the emcee announced, “let’s meet the girls!” Jessica kept her smile fixed on her face as the fourteen women introduced themselves one by one. As they had lined up in alphabetical order by surname, Jessica was the second to last girl to step forward, and her face was almost cracking under the pressure of her forced smile when she finally got to speak.

“Hi,” Jessica said in her refined Maryland accent. “I’m Jessica Tyler, I’m twenty-three years old- today- I’m from Baltimore in the United States, and I hope you’ll pick me for Miss Soixante-Trois 2015!” Jessica kept her smile fixed on her face as she stepped back, though she felt her cheeks start to burn as some of the other women glanced in her direction, clearly disapproving of her playing the ‘birthday card’ so early in the competition.

“Hi,” Abbey said, stepping forward. “I’m Abbey Watkins, I’m nineteen years old- last August- I’m from Basildon in England, and I hope that you’ll agree with me that for Miss Soixante-Trois 2015, the only way IS Essex!” Abbey stepped back, shooting a smug smile at her mentor as the emcee stepped forward again.

“I’m sure you’ll agree,” the young man announced, “fourteen beautiful and intelligent young women! Next, you’ll see all of them in- well, pretending to be in- their natural habitat- eight kilometres above the surface of the Earth in an aeroplane! And when I say ‘eight kilometres’, I of course mean ‘five miles’, Annabelle and Jessica.” Jessica giggled bashfully as the emcee teased her, even though she was fully comfortable with the use of the metric system. Jessica followed the rest of the girls backstage- with Abbey again bringing up the rear- as they waited to step in front of the crowd again, this time individually.

“Happy birthday to you…” Abbey teased her mentor.

“Oh- shut up,” Jessica sighed.

“Oh come on, it IS a bit blatant, isn’t it?” Abbey asked.

“Well excuse me for being conceived in August!” Jessica retorted.

“Keep it quiet back there!” Zoe laughed from her position two spaces in front of Jessica. “What do you Americans say, ‘eyes on the prize’?” Jessica laughed as she waited to take her turn in front of the crowd- a wait that took almost twenty minutes, during which she fidgeted impatiently. Once again, she was regretting her decision to enter the pageant, and as she stepped out on stage, stage fright threatened to make her freeze dead on the spot. Jessica took a deep breath and made her way to the front of the stage, smiling and turning for the assembled crowd.

“The emergency exits are located here,” the emcee announced as Jessica mimed the arm gestures that had become second nature to her even before she started working for Soixante-Trois Airlines. “Here, and here. In the event of a water landing, please reach underneath your seats for a lifejacket, which can be inflated using the valve here. The lifejacket contains a light and a whistle.” Jessica finished her ‘safety briefing’, before bobbing a curtsey and walking backstage, allowing Abbey to take her place on the stage.

“This way, Miss Tyler,” one of the backstage helpers said, quickly escorting Jessica to the changing room where many of the other girls were in various stages of undress. Taking care not to stare at the semi-naked bodies of the other girls, Jessica stripped off her uniform, hanging it up with the usual level of care it warranted- she would have to wear it ‘for real’ in a week- before taking her tight blue one-piece swimsuit off of its coat hanger and stretching it over her body. The swimsuit round wasn’t nearly as ‘involved’ as the uniform round- simply ‘modelling’ the garment for the assembled crowd- and the eveningwear round was the same way, though Jessica did find herself having fun as she swished the long, flowing dress around herself, before heading backstage to the changing room once again, where she discovered Natalie lacing Zoe into her wide, ostentatious tutu.

“How are you going to get that out of the door?” Jessica laughed as she sat down. Unlike Zoe, she didn’t need to change for her ‘talent round’, so she took the opportunity to relax ahead of her performance.

“Oh whatever,” Zoe moaned, tying her well-worn pointe shoes to her feet. “I’ve done this a million times before, remember? Just try not to forget your words!” Jessica stuck her tongue out at the French ballerina as she leaned back in her seat.

“Where is everyone, anyway?” Jessica asked, staring around at the relatively deserted changing room.

“In the bar,” Natalie explained. “The show’s being broadcast live on the web, they hooked up a laptop to the big screen in there. I’m heading there now, once I’ve finished building Zoe’s costume!"

“It does look like a feat of engineering,” Jessica said, laughing as Zoe stuck her tongue back out at her.

“Admit it,” Zoe said. “You’re just jealous!”

“What girl wouldn’t be?” Jessica asked, making Zoe laugh. “I take it, Natalie, that you’ll end up wearing this costume before the week is over?”

“’Week’?” Natalie laughed. “Try ‘night’!” Natalie laughed harder as Zoe gave her a playful elbow in the ribs, before leading Jessica to the bar, where her fellow contestants were watching the big screen- on which was footage of Annabelle, singing ‘Stand By Your Man’ in a perfectly convincing feminine voice.

“Ugh,” Jessica spat as she watched the tall blonde girl sing. “Could she be any more obvious, what with her boyfriend on the judging panel?”

“It IS a bit sickening, agreed,” Natalie said. “What song are you playing on the piano again?”

“It’s a bit of Jupiter,” Jessica explained. “By Holst, you know, the planets?”

“Good choice,” Natalie nodded. “European composer, should go down well…” Natalie’s voice trailed off as she stared over Jessica’s shoulder. Jessica followed Natalie’s gaze, and gasped as she found herself staring into the mismatched eyes of the woman who was, up until the previous night, her lover.

“P-Paige?” Jessica whispered as the Scottish girl slowly approached her, only to turn around and leave before she reached Jessica’s table.

“I’ll go talk to her,” Natalie said, leaving Jessica alone with her thoughts. Thirty minutes passed, during which eight more women (including Zoe) took their turn on stage, each one earning a rapturous round of applause.

“Miss Tyler?” The same backstage helper from before called. Jessica gulped nervously as she stood up and straightened her dress, before following the helper back to the stage.

“We don’t have an actual piano to hand,” the helper explained. “We’ve managed to find a keyboard, hopefully it should be enough-“

“Can I change the song I want to play?” Jessica asked, interrupting the young man. “Actually, can I change my talent section altogether?”

“Seconds before your performance?” The helper asked incredulously. “Umm, as long as it’s something that doesn’t require any props, I suppose so…”

“I want to sing a song,” Jessica announced.

“You’ll have to do it without background music,” the helper said. “Are you sure?” Jessica nodded and told the helper exactly what she had planned, before waiting alone as the helper relayed those instructions to the emcee.

“In a change to the billed performance,” the emcee eventually announced, “please welcome back to the stage Miss Jessica Tyler, who will sing for your votes!” Jessica strode out on stage and took her place in front of the microphone that had been provided for her.

“Thank you,” Jessica said. “I was going to play the piano for you, but unfortunately, I hurt two fingers before the pageant, so I won’t be able to do that, I’m afraid.” As lies go, it was a small, harmless one, but Jessica still felt uneasy about fibbing to the assembled crowd. “Instead, I’d like to sing you a song… This is for my best friend. Paige… I hope you’re listening.” Jessica cleared her throat, before closing her eyes and singing a song she'd listened to over and over again ever since her childhood.

"You and me," Jessica sang.

"We used to be together
Everyday together always...
I really feel
That I'm losing my best friend
I can't believe
This could be the end
It looks as though you're letting go
And if it's real
Well I don't want to know

Don't speak
I know just what you're saying
So please stop explaining
Don't tell me ‘cause it hurts
Don't speak
I know what you're thinking
I don't need your reasons
Don't tell me ‘cause it hurts..."

Jessica bobbed a curtsey as the crowd applauded her singing, before heading backstage to a similar reception from her fellow contestants.

“That’s it!” Natalie laughed. “All done now…”

“Did you speak to Paige?” Jessica asked the English woman as she collapsed back down in her seat, before changing from her dress back into her familiar blue uniform.

“…I couldn’t find her,” Natalie mumbled. “Think she must have left the club altogether… I’m sorry, Jess. I have sent her a text, asked her to get in touch.”

“With me or with you?” Jessica asked.

“Whoever she’d be more comfortable speaking to,” Natalie answered. “There’s going to be an intermission whilst they tally up the scores, everybody’s going to head to the bar whilst we wait.”

“Okay,” Jessica said, waiting for Zoe to pull her evening dress back on before following her and Natalie back to the bar, where, to Jessica’s irritation, all the contestants were sat around a long table… With Annabelle at the head of the table.

“Jess! Zoe!” Rachel yelled, holding out two chairs for the young women. “Come on!” Jessica smiled as she sat down in the chair, elegantly smoothing her dress beneath her. Seconds later, Abbey- the only contestant missing from the table- sat down at the opposite end of the table to Annabelle.

“A toast!” Rachel announced. “To the Miss Soixante-Trois class of 2015!”

“Salut!” All fourteen women said, raising their champagne-filled glasses.

“How are they going to announce the winners again?” Abbey asked.

“Top 3, in reverse order,” Rachel said. “I think I know who the winner’s likely to be, eh, Miss Wynette?” Annabelle blushed bashfully, but remained silent as Rachel teased her.

“Though Miss Stefani surely stands a chance?” Zoe said, making Jessica giggle nervously.

“Well,” Rachel said, “whoever wins, they’ll certainly be a deserving winner!” The fourteen girls all clinked their glasses as they congratulated each other on their performances- Zoe’s ballet routine getting special attention- before they were invited back onto the stage. Jessica couldn’t help but note, however, that Annabelle didn’t say a single word during the ‘toast’, instead simply smiling and remaining silent…

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the emcee announced. “I’m sure you’ll agree that tonight has been great entertainment, and that any one of the fourteen women on my left would make a fantastic Miss Soixante-Trois. However, only one can take away the crown for the next twelve months, and the time has come to find out who that woman will be. I will announce the top three, in reverse order. In third place…” Jessica smiled for the crowd as the emcee paused for dramatic effect. Jessica didn’t hold any illusions that she would get anywhere near the top three- the other girls had put much more effort into the pageant than she herself had. Plus, she’d changed her ‘talent show’ song at the last minute. Jessica willed the emcee to hurry up so that she could go home and try to enjoy the rest of her birthday- even though she wouldn’t be spending it with the woman she really wanted to spend it with…

“…The birthday girl herself, Jessica Tyler!” The emcee announced, causing Jessica’s jaw to drop like a stone.

“Oh- my- god!” Jessica squeaked, blinking in disbelief as she was handed a bouquet of flowers and a bronze-coloured sash was placed on her shoulders. Third!? Jessica thought to herself, still barely able to comprehend what was happening. Out of the fourteen women, she’d placed third, meaning that the judges and the audience had collectively thought that she was a superior beauty queen to eleven of the other women. Jessica quickly realised that it also meant that they’d judged to be inferior to two of the other girls, but that didn’t matter to Jessica- right up until she looked down the line of applauding women, and stared straight into the face of Annabelle, who smiled smugly at Jessica. Oh, you cow, you know you’ve won, don’t you…? Jessica thought to herself as she struggled to keep the smile on her face.

“And the runner-up,” the emcee continued, again pausing for dramatic effect. Annabelle, by any chance? Jessica thought to herself.

“…Mademoiselle Brigitte Levesque!” Jessica applauded as a bouquet of flowers and a silver sash was presented to the woman wearing the grey route uniform, but inside, she was seething- if Brigitte had placed second, there was no doubt now in her mind who would win the pageant.

“And the winner,” the emcee said, “winning two first-class return tickets on any Soixante-Trois flight of their choice, a cheque for six thousand, three hundred euros and the right to call themselves Miss Soixante-Trois Airlines 2015 is…” here it comes, thought Jessica as the emcee paused for what felt like an eternity.

“…Rachel Harrison!” The emcee yelled. Far on her left, Rachel- Jessica’s most frequent supervisor on her flights- squeaked incoherently, literally bouncing up and down with delight as her pillbox hat was replaced by a jewelled tiara, and a gold sash was draped over her shoulders that read ‘Miss Soixante-Trois 2015’. Much to Jessica’s surprise, though, Annabelle’s facial expression didn’t change- her face wasn’t one of shock, disappointment or surprise, instead wearing the same smug-looking smile she had worn throughout the pageant. Jessica- along with Brigitte and Rachel- was called to the middle of the stage to have their photographs taken, and it was only as Jessica stood with the two other girls, a wide smile plastered on her face, that she realised that she had actually beaten Annabelle- despite the other girl’s boyfriend being on the panel, Jessica had had the edge.

“Do I get to keep the sash?” Jessica asked, making everyone left on the stage laugh out loud.

Upon her return to the changing room, Jessica received a rapturous round of applause from all the other contestants whom she had beaten.

“Well done, mademoiselle troisieme!” Zoe giggled, giving Jessica a long hug. “Honestly, if I can’t win, I’m glad it’s you.”

“I only came third!” Jessica laughed as she carefully removed her sash, handing it to Natalie as she changed from her uniform back into her ‘regular’ clothes.

“You know why Rachel won, don’t you?” Natalie laughed. “Not that she isn’t a deserving winner, but…”

“Umm… No?” Zoe asked. “I did wonder why she, as a supervisor who’s been for the company six years, had entered today…”

“Oh come on,” Natalie laughed. “Any coincidence a LONDON native just became the unofficial face of the airline? Someone from LONDON, who grew up near, say, HEATHROW…?”

“…Surely not?” Zoe asked.

“Heathrow is the busiest airport in Europe,” Natalie said. “If they put in that third runway… It’s no wonder Masson wants a piece of that action. So get brushing up on your English, girls. Especially you, Jessica.” Natalie giggled as Jessica stuck her tongue out, before frowning as the American girl’s expression grew sombre.

“Have you heard back from Paige?” Jessica asked, sighing sadly as Natalie shook her head.

“I sent her another message after you got the third,” Natalie said, draping Jessica’s sash back over her shoulders. “Still nothing.”

“She’ll talk to you soon,” Zoe whispered. “She HAS to.”

“Hope you’re right,” Jessica said as she grabbed her bag and headed out of the changing room.

“Congratulations, honey,” Annabelle said to Jessica as she left, causing Jessica to turn around, surprise etched onto her face.

"Thanks, Annabelle," Jessica said, a genuine smile creeping onto her face.

"You thought she'd 'bought' it, didn't you?" Natalie accused her American friend.

"No," Jessica replied. "Maybe... Just thankful 'le connard' behaved himself..." Almost as if on cue, the three women rounded a corner in the labyrinthine hotel and found themselves face to face with Jacques Lacroix.

"Ah, mademoiselles," Jacques oozed. "Congratulations on your third place, mademoiselle Tyler. Commiserations, mademoiselle Renou- know that I of course gave you top marks."

"Votre approbation me remplit de honte," Zoe retorted, making Natalie and Jessica snigger uncontrollably.

"You may be interested to learn," Jacques continued, unfettered by Zoe's insult, "That there is an additional prize for those who finished in the top three: a date with Jacques Lacroix, Soixante-Trois's most handsome and sophisticated co-pilot! You may choose your date, time and place."

"Hell, when it freezes over," Jessica said, pushing her way past Jacques.

"Oh?" Jacques asked. "It was my understanding that you were newly single, no? Is that not why you sang that song?"

"It's our understanding that you're NOT single!" Natalie retorted on Jessica's behalf.

"Mademoiselle Cope and I have a... understanding," Jacques replied.

"Manger de la merde, Jacques," Zoe spat as she led Jessica away from the oily co-pilot.

"How- how does Annabelle put up with him?" Jessica wondered aloud.

"Oh?" Natalie laughed. "It wasn't that long ago that you said that they were perfect for each other..."

"Yeah, well things change, okay?" Jessica asked. "Can we just go home?"

"Sure," Natalie said. "And me and Zoe are on flights tomorrow, so no surprise party, I promise. Not tonight, anyway!" Jessica half-sighed, half-laughed at Natalie's irrepressible attitude as the three women made their way to the nearest tram stop, soon finding themselves at the door to their apartment.

"See?" Natalie asked as she let the three of them in, dumping their cases (which contained their clothing for the pageant) in the entranceway. "No surprise party, Zoe and I are heading to bed. Good night, well done, and happy birthday!" Natalie gave Jessica a brief hug, much to the surprise of the American girl, before leading Zoe into their bedroom. A quick check of the clock revealed to Jessica that it was after 11pm, and whilst she was tired, she was in no mood to go to bed herself- especially as she no longer had anyone with which to share it. Sighing, Jessica pulled her phone out of her bag, and a smile immediately leapt onto her face when she saw two Facebook notifications on her screen- 'Aaron Tyler posted on your wall', and 'Hayley Tyler posted on your wall'. Jessica smiled even wider as she opened up Facebook and read the messages that had been left.

'Happy birthday to the best big sister in the world!' Aaron's message read. 'Hope you come back to America soon.'

'Happy birthday super sister!' Hayley's message read. 'I still miss you every day... Get back to America soon, and bring Paige with you!' Jessica's face fell at the mention of the woman she still loved dearly, but she maintained her composure long enough to leave 'likes' on both posts, before heading up the short staircase to hers and Paige's bedroom, where she snapped on the light and gasped in shock. There, sat on her bed, in the dark, was the same woman for whom Jessica had pined mere seconds earlier.

"Hi Jess," Paige said hesitantly. "Happy birthday..."

"Hi Paige," Jessica replied. "Pai-"

"Jes-" Paige said at the same time as Jessica, causing both girls to giggle.

"You first," Jessica sighed.

"I... I was only going to say 'Jessica'," Paige laughed. "Didn't really have any idea how to continue that sentence..."

"Deja vu?" Jessica giggled. "The first time we were alone in this bedroom- well, not THIS bedroom, but-"

"I don't want us to be finished," Paige said. "We had a fight. It was bound to happen eventually... I'm sorry for what I said, and the way I said it."

"I'm sorry too," Jessica said. "I was jealous and stupid... And extra-stupid. You're the best thing in my life."

"Even better than your new career as a beauty queen?" Paige laughed, pointing at Jessica's sash.

"I'm pretty sure they were pity votes," Jessica laughed. "Paige..."

"...Yes?" Paige asked, before giggling. "Still no idea how to finish that sentence?"

"All I want to do right now is kiss you," Jessica whispered. Paige smiled and leaned in toward Jessica, kissing her deeply on her scarlet lips. Both women closed their eyes as they savoured each other's taste as though it was the first and last time they would ever experience it, and soon their hands were exploring each other's bodies, stripping off each other's clothes as they collapsed on their bed. A fine sheen of sweat covered their naked forms, and soon they found themselves lost in an orgasmic haze...

Jessica shivered as the first rays of sunlight woke her from her slumber. As she turned her head, she smiled at the sight of Paige's sleeping face, her slow, rhythmic breaths belying the intensity of the previous night's lovemaking session. Jessica leaned into Paige's face and slowly kissed her on her lips, rousing her from her sleep.

"Morning, beautiful," Jessica said, grinning as Paige sleepily giggled at her.

"Morning, gorgeous," Paige replied. "I really, really don't want to get up today..."

"Then don't," Jessica whispered. "Just- just stay here with me. Please?"

"...Okay," Paige said, kissing Jessica deeply before cuddling her naked body close to that of her lover. "Will- can, you know, can we 'pick up from where we left off'? I really, really like this..."

"I LOVE you," Jessica whispered. "And yes, if you want- you want to move back in... I'd like that."

"I love you too," Paige sighed. "Are the others on flights today?"

"Umm," Jessica mumbled, furrowing her brow. "Natalie and Zoe, yes; Marie, I think so; Anna-Jade, I don't think so." Paige sighed as she buried her face into Jessica's shoulder.

"...I should get up," Paige moaned. "I need to go back to Hiromi's..."

"No," Jessica said firmly. "Seriously, please?"

"...I need to get your birthday presents!" Paige giggled, making Jessica laugh happily before kissing the American girl deeply yet again. Soon, the two women were once again locked in a passionate embrace, and soon, they would bring each other to the point of orgasm and beyond...

Anna-Jade had just finished her breakfast, and was loading the dishwasher when she heard the door to Jessica's bedroom open. The Irish woman nearly dropped the plates she was holding, such was her rush to intercept her flat mates, and when she saw not one, but two figures emerge from the small bedroom, she had to restrain herself from letting out a cheer of joy.

"Oh, thank GOD!" Anna-Jade yelled, greeting Jessica and Paige with a tight hug each. "Knew you couldn't stay away from each other for long!"

"Best birthday present ever," Jessica giggled, kissing Paige on her lips.

"Oh, speaking of..." Anna-Jade said, handing Jessica a small, tightly-wrapped gift.

"Oh, thanks, Anna-Jade!" Jessica said, tearing off the wrapping paper to reveal a small photograph album- the first few pages of which had already been filled with pictures taken of all six of the apartment's residents at the various parties they had held.

"Perfect," Jessica said, giving Anna-Jade another tight hug.

"Have you heard from your family at all?" Paige asked, sighing as Jessica shook her head.

"Got Facebook messages from Aaron and Hayley," Jessica replied. "Nothing from my parents..."

"They WILL accept you as their daughter," Paige said.

"Speaking of," Anna-Jade said, placing a small bottle of tablets on the kitchen table. "You kinda forgot these during your 'temporary absence'."

"You absolute lifesaver," Paige said, popping the top off the bottle and swallowing one of the small oestrogen pills. "Getting a little girlier every day..."

"How about you, Jess?" Anna-Jade asked.

"...I'm still thinking about it," Jessica sighed as the three women collapsed down on the apartment's sofas.

"Well don't think too long," Paige chuckled. "I don't want to get too far ahead of you..."

"I really, really need to sort things out with my parents first," Jessica said, linking her fingers with Paige. "After that... Believe me when I say that I want oestrogen... I just don't think I'm ready for it. Not yet, anyway. In the meantime... Can we just enjoy our break?"

"Of course we can," Paige laughed, cuddling Jessica close to her.

"And congratulations on your promotion to mentor!" Anna-Jade said, making Paige laugh. "Have you seen the assignments yet of who you'll get on Monday?"

"Umm, not yet," Paige said. "It's only five days away, I should probably get on and introduce myself at some point..."

"I've got a 24 year old woman from Bristol," Anna-Jade said. "You've got a nineteen year old from Melbourne."

"Both T-girls?" Paige asked.

"Of course!" Anna-Jade giggled. "Big intake this time, 21 new starters..."

"Ooh," Jessica said. "Natalie may be right, then..."

"It'd make a nice change," Anna-Jade laughed. "And right about what?"

"Right about Soixante-Trois opening a hub at Heathrow..." Jessica said with a knowing smile.

Over the following five days, Jessica helped Anna-Jade and Paige as they prepared Claire and Isabella- their respective 'pupils'- for life as a Soixante-Trois stewardess. Even though she was technically working through her hard-earned annual leave, Jessica didn't mind, as every second she spent with Paige was, in her eyes, a second well-spent.

Jessica's birthday party on the Friday night was a subdued affair- the only attendees were the apartment's residents, as well as Abbey, Claire and Isabella- but the intimate nature of the celebration suited Jessica perfectly, as it reminded her that no matter how far away her 'real' family was- and whatever attitude they held toward her- her 'adopted family' would always stand by her no matter what.

Jessica strode into work on Monday morning with a smile on her face, and the woman she loved walking in step mere inches to her left. Her feet still hurt from her heels, and her corset was still uncomfortable, but none of that mattered as she changed into her tight blue uniform.

"You have fun, 'Miss Mentor'!" Jessica giggled to Paige as the Scottish girl walked into the seminar room where the two had met nine long months beforehand. Paige's promotion meant that she would have to work black route, in addition to blue route, and with Jessica often working red route in addition to blue route, the two wouldn't get many free days together- but every free night they had would be spent in each other's arms. Their relationship had been tested, certainly, but it had passed the test with flying colours.

Jessica's smile didn't even fade as she saw Annabelle coolly stride into the seminar room, inevitably to become a mentor for the second quarter in a row. Whilst Jessica had the option of becoming a mentor once again, she had opted not to take on another 'pupil' from the May intake. Annabelle taking two 'pupil's in a row- especially considering that it was only six months since she herself started for the company- could only mean that she was being groomed for a supervisor role. Even that, however, couldn't lower Jessica's mood- she'd had her 'win' over Annabelle, even if it was just in a silly beauty pageant. The cards had been stacked against Jessica, but she came out on top.

...Or rather, third from top, as Jessica discovered when she entered the pre-flight briefing to discover that her supervisor for the day was none other than Miss Soixante-Trois herself.

"Good morning," Rachel announced with a smile. "Before I begin the briefing, please allow me to say what a pleasure it is to have Miss Soixante-Trois Airlines on this flight- oh wait, I almost forgot- that's me!" Jessica forced a chuckle out of her mouth as Rachel posed for the audience in the same manner as she had six days earlier during the beauty pageant.

"And the third-placed Miss Soixante-Trois!" Eleanor- another of the flight's stewardesses and one of Jessica's friends from her training group- shouted, making the room chuckle. Jessica couldn't help but blush as Eleanor drew attention to her, and smiled widely as she observed that the applause for her third place was louder than the applause for Rachel's first place...

"Anyway," Rachel said. "Before I begin the briefing, allow me to settle your fears about the rumours you may have heard about the company opening a small hub at Heathrow... They ARE true. It will open in September, and yes, they will be looking for stewardesses- and supervisors- to move over to London to staff those flights. As with when Berlin opened, preference will be given to those who speak English natively, so if you're interested, now is the time to speak up!"

Jessica made a mental note to investigate the application process upon her return from Dublin, but whilst she was excited by the prospect of possibly moving to London, she only knew one thing for certain- she'd never live anywhere without Paige.