A/N: Thanks for being patient, everyone. Work has been kind of binding lately and I've been kind of lazy. Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer:

Nothing in this story, except for my original characters I may add later, is mine.

Fly Girls

Chapter Nine: California Love…Part One

Serena Campbell, Lita Hamilton and Rei Marshall had settled into the spare seats in First Class, reserved specifically for resting flight attendants and crews, enjoying the quick break between the lunch and pre-arrival meal services. Today, she, Lita and Rei were working flight 913, flying the coast-to-coast Miami-Los Angeles run, utilizing one of the brand-new McDonnell Douglas MD-11 aircraft. Originally, the three of them had planned to fly flight 886 to Santiago, Chile, but due to some unforeseen circumstance that only crew scheduling could explain, they were bumped from Santiago to Los Angeles.

"Two days in L.A.," Rei sighed as she reclined the seatback and took her shoes off, rubbing her sore feet. "I never fathomed flying west of the Mississippi."

"You've never been to California?" Serena asked, amused. Rei shook her head.

"Never. I've been to Europe, the Caribbean, Mexico…never been west of Dallas. Crew sked always sends me east or south, never west."

Lita shrugged. "Not much to do in L.A., anyway. I mean, you got Venice Beach, the boardwalk, Santa Monica and Disneyland. That's why I always bid San Francisco."

"Lita," Rei said as she rolled her eyes. "You're a lesbo. Of course you're gonna bid SFO."

Lita looked over at Rei and narrowed her eyes. "What the hell does that mean?"

"It means," Rei said, cautiously. "That there is more tolerance in SFO for the lesbian/gay community than there is in L.A. It's your comfort zone." Thankfully, there were only two other passengers in First, but even still, they kept their conversation hushed. An awkward silence fell between the three women; the hum of the three engines broke the silence.

"True," Lita sighed, breaking the silence, her anger subsiding. "It's easier to be a lesbian in the Bay Area than in the Basin."

"Not true," Serena said. "There's a comfortable niche in West Hollywood for the gay community. Hell, before I moved to Miami, I hung around the clubs there."

"Fag hag, are we?" Rei smirked.

Serena nodded whilst smiling. "Damn straight. Most of my men-friends are gay, and the only boyfriend I had during high school was bisexual."

"You have real luck with women, Serena," Rei giggled. "Bisexual boyfriend, forty-five year old playboy...damn, you're two and zero, honey!"

"Don't start," Serena said in a warning voice, her blue eyes gleaming with a hint of red. "I made two mistakes in St. Thomas and Barbados. I am not making the same mistake in California. That's my territory."

"And Mina's," Lita reminded Serena. "She grew up in, fuck, some suburb of the valley."

"Encino," Serena mumbled through her lunch. "The San Fernando Valley. I can believe it. She still speaks like a Valley Girl."

"What's the difference between where you grew up and where she grew up, Serena?" Rei asked, scratching her head.

"An income difference of about fifty grand," Serena said nonchalantly. "Inglewood is just southwest of downtown L.A., so of course, you have your lower-income and middle-income housing. Encino, on the other hand, is full of rich people."

"Yeah," Lita nodded. "It's like comparing South Side to the Near North Side in Chicago; one's dirt-poor, the other is filthy rich."

Rei rolled her eyes. "Don't I feel so lucky, having grown up in Louisiana?"

"You're from Louisiana?" Lita asked as she cocked an eye. Rei nodded.

"Born in Baton Rouge, lived in Shreveport and graduated from High School in N'awlins."

"Nice," Lita said, nodding with approval. "Beats living in Chicago. Depressing six months out of the year, stupid the other six."

"Not to mention O'Hare is bullshit," Serena said in an annoyed tone. "I thought DFW and Miami were bad…"

"Ah, O'Hare is a beast that can be tamed. You just need to get used to it," Lita grinned.

"I still say, if I'm gonna live anywhere in the lower forty-eight, it's gonna be either Miami or L.A.," Serena sighed happily. "To quote Randy Newman, I love L.A.!"


The east-west rivalry between Miami and Los Angeles often sparked controversy amongst the various flight and cabin crews transiting through LAX. The Los Angeles-based flight attendants often sneered Miami for being too 'touristy', while the Miami-based attendants often said that Los Angeles was 'smoggy and stuck-up.' Sometimes the Miami-Los Angeles runs would combine both L.A. and Miami-based crews, sparking arguments over what city is better for trips, food, clothing, scenery and men. Serena, Lita and Rei just rolled their eyes as the 'hip' L.A.-based attendants groaned about how Miami was 'dirty and riddled with foreigners,' until Rei made the snide comment about how Los Angeles had just the same amount, if not more, immigrants (not foreigners) living in the L.A. Basin.

The women, having transited the American Airlines terminal at LAX, finally had some time to settle down, unwind and bitch about random topics, much to the amusement of the crew van driver, all the way to their crew hotel: the Hyatt on Sunset, made famous in various movies such as 'This is Spinal Tap', and for having the reputation of being the base of crazy antics by English bands such as The Who, The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin. It was also in close proximity to Sunset Boulevard, extending from downtown to the Pacific Ocean, home to famous clubs such as The Viper Room and Whisky a Go-Go, which promised a chance for consensual relations with the opposite sex for Rei and Serena.

"Stupid rich California bitches piss me off," Lita grumbled as the three women left the crew van and walked into the hotel. "All they gab about is their bloody fashion sense, what celebrities fucked and married each other, and all that other typical Valley Girl, Hollywood, shallow trash."

"Hey, I'm from California," Serena snapped at Lita.

"You grew up in Inglewood, you're an exception," Rei replied to Serena. "You're not one of those L.A. girls that still live with Mommy and Daddy. You're one of us."

"One of us?" Serena asked as they walked from the front desk to the elevators.

"One of the flight attendants who can survive, fresh out of training, in a new city, on her own, without having to commute," Lita explained. "A lot of our attendants commute to Miami from all over the southeast. We're lucky. Our commute requires having to do battle on the Causeway and the freeway to get to the crew room. Most have to travel like three hours from their home to MIA. Our commute takes thirty minutes."

Serena thought about it for a second. She did move out of her house in Inglewood at 20, she did follow her dream of being an American Airlines flight attendant and she does live on her own, albeit with roommates.

"You've got it made, Serena," Rei said as the elevator doors closed. "You've got it made."

"I do," Serena smiled inwardly. "I really do."


"Okay, so who wants to do what?" Serena asked Lita and Rei while they were sitting at the hotel bar, having a round of drinks.

Serena, Lita and Rei were dressed casually, each sporting t-shirts, jeans and sneakers; their uniforms were hung up in their hotel room closets, as were their 'club' clothes for later that evening.

"I vote Venice Beach," Rei suggested. "Surfer boys…dreamy!"

"I can live with that," Lita agreed.

"How about afterwards, we go to Rodeo Drive?" Serena grinned. "All the famous European labels at American pricing!"

"Yeah!" Rei smirked. "I do need a new summer wardrobe."

"I can go look for some stuff for Trista," Lita chimed in. "She said she wanted something from Los Angeles, so why not surprise her with like a hundred bucks worth of clothes?"

"Thank God for credit cards and bi-weekly payment," Serena sighed contently.

"Agreed," Lita and Rei said together.

Serena, Lita and Rei finished their drinks, paid their tab and quickly departed the bar and headed out onto the street, each pulling out a designer pair of sunglasses: Serena's were gold-rimmed, Rei's were red and Lita's were dark green.

"Girls," Serena smiled. "Welcome to my neighbourhood!"

The three women flagged a cab, announced their intention to head for Venice Beach, paid the driver in advance and sped off for some SoCal fun in the SoCal sun.

A/N: I know, it's short, they aren't in South America and it took me over two weeks to update. Just relax. There will be more fun coming your way as soon as possible.

Until next time, happy travels!