The Uniform Series 4: Annabel, Air Hostess

From Janus 122

‘At first I thought it witty when people called me a high flyer,’ said Annabel. ‘You know, air hostess swept away to exotic locations and all that. But after a while the joke began to wear a bit thin. If anyone says it to me now, I sometimes think I’ll scream!’

She softened the remark with a smile. One couldn’t really imagine this exquisitely pretty girl screaming because of something someone said.

‘Actually,’ Annabel went on, ‘being an air hostess is really far from the glamourous occupation travellers imagine it to be. Contrary to popular myth, the pilots aren’t all debonair charmers with craggy smiles and seductive voices. Some of them can be a real pain, and the majority seem to be married anyway. Oh, there is a certain attraction for a girl when you think of the sheer amount of responsibility they carry, conveying hundreds of tons of plane and people at near-stratospheric heights to a perfect landing on the other side of the world.’

‘What about the other air hostesses? Do you get on together?’ Annabel smiled again. ‘Some are lovely, of course, but others can be absolute bitches. I had a supervisor once who was a total tyrant. She always lined us up and inspected us before a flight. A strand of hair out of place or a button half undone and she’d hit the roof and issue a reprimand.’

‘The discipline is quite severe, then?’

‘Oh, yes. If a girl can’t take discipline, she may as well forget the whole thing. There’s a lot of exacting work to be done during a flight, and very little relaxation. No sooner is one meal finished than another looms. Then there’s the duty free booze and perfume, the trinkets tired businessmen buy for their lady-loves, the need to detail the emergency drill procedures, mopping up kiddies who are sick, avoiding straying male hands…’

‘Have you ever had your bottom pinched?’

Annabel laughed. ‘Less often than you might think. But once or twice, yes. The best thing is to let it go, but sometimes when you’re working your way down a cramped aisle, and lean over to answer a query, it can push your bottom against a passenger’s shoulder if you’re not careful. On this occasion I got it patted and squeezed rather than pinched.’

‘What did you do? Slap his face? Or is the customer always right?’

‘I didn’t look directly at him, but removed myself at once from his vicinity and made a mental note not to get too close again. He was a fat businessman with an oily complexion.’ She grinned. ‘Now, if it had been some young hunk, I might have gone back and bent over near him again.’

‘Why, you naughty girl!’ Annabel’s eyes are sparkling with fun. ‘Are you really a tease?’

‘Well,’ she said, ‘like all girls, I like men who flirt, and I enjoy flirting back. You know, a man can really be quite ugly and visually unappetising, but if he has a way with him, is cheeky and flattering without being offensive, it can actually be quite a turn-on.’

‘How about discipline if you do something wrong?’

‘I know what you’re thinking! I think you’re a bit of a flirt yourself. That’s naughty!’

‘And what happens if you’re naughty? Say you spill drink in someone’s lap, or drop a tray of dinner in mid-aisle?’

‘Oh, we’re called to account afterwards. The supervisor sees to that. It goes on report, and it’s usually just a ticking off. But if it’s more serious, like rudeness to a passenger, it could be a severe reprimand or even dismissal.’

‘How about a spanking?’

Annabel threw back her lovely head and laughed again. Then she looked at the tawse with a certain trepidation, the smile fading into uncertainty.

‘Heavens, no. No doubt many of us deserve the occasional smacked bottom, but it never comes to that — not these days, anyway.’ She looked at the tawse again. ‘And certainly not with something like that!’ She grinned. ‘I don’t even think the hostesses on Singapore Airlines get the cane if they foul up — though no doubt some of them deserve it too!’

‘What about all those times you “fouled up”, Annabel? Neglected your duties on a flight, failed to appease a dissatisfied traveller, snapped at the chief steward, made a colleague cry by saying something mean, served the wrong wine at the wrong temperature, forgot to smile goodbye to someone when your passengers disembarked?’

‘Yes, it does happen,’ she admitted ruefully. ‘I’m sure I’ve done lots of things like that.’ Annabel isn’t smiling at all now.

‘And were you called to account for all these lapses?’

‘Well, no,’ she faltered, biting a lip and fluttering heavenly eyelashes. ‘We tend to get away with all kinds of stuff like that, especially when the flight is hectic and busy.’

‘Well, I don’t think you should get away with it, young lady. Do you?’ She paused, looked down, then shook her head. ‘Not really, no. I suppose I ought to have been punished for everything.’

‘And so you shall be.’

Annabel eyed the tawse. She was trembling.

‘Will it hurt?’

‘My dear, beautiful young lady — you are about to find that out…