Madness Aboard by Yvonne Lee

Author:Yvonne Lee
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9789814382847
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish

The plane was idling on the parking bay, waiting for passengers to board the flight to Hong Kong. It was holiday season and we were expecting a full flight; one that’d be filled with families with boisterous and excited children who were likely to get all whiny and cranky even before the journey started.

I stood at the starboard aisle, greeting the passengers as they walked in. A Chinese family came on board; a bespectacled father in a white polo T-shirt and khaki Bermuda pants wearing a cowboy hat, a reed-thin mother in a voluminous Hawaiian print sundress that seemed to overwhelm her and their roly-poly daughter donning a pretty pink dress that was a tad too tight. She looked no more than six years old. In her white lace-trimmed socks, gleaming black Mary Janes and hair tied back in two pigtails, she looked absolutely adorable. She came in laughing and announced in her sing-song voice in Chinese, “Yay, Daddy’s taking me to Ocean Park! Daddy’s taking me to Ocean Park!” More children around the same age as the Ocean Park-loving girl sauntered into the plane.

I took a deep breath. This is the kind of flight all cabin crew dread to work in. From the sheer volume of passengers and most of them with young children, I knew this was not going to be an easy day. I had served on the plane aisle for 5 years, 6 months and 13 days. That’s long enough to predict that on a day like this, some degree of drama would unfold on board.

Shortly after the doors were locked and secured, I did the safety demonstration in front of the passengers. This was the time before individual movie screens or pre-recorded safety video existed. For a stewardess, the safety demonstration is the only time she can imagine she is a runway model or a movie star—never mind that her role involved putting on a straight face while clasping and unclasping a mock airplane seat belt and wearing a silly-looking life-jacket.

After the safety announcement ended, I rushed back to the galley to store my demo equipment and prepare for take-off. When I reached the back of the plane, I heard a loud cry of protest from the cabin I had just left.

“Wo bu yao! Wo bu yao! Wo bu yao!”

It was a little girl’s protesting voice. In Chinese it means I don’t want to. As I rushed to the cabin to check what was the cause of the commotion, more shrieks of wo bu yao wo bu yao punctuated the air. Uh-oh, a problematic kid, I thought to myself.

When I reached the scene, Jennie, the junior stewardess was trying to soothe the crying girl. She was a far cry from the earlier Yay, Daddy’s taking me to Ocean Park little cutie. Jennie related to me how the girl had refused to fasten her seat belt for the take-off. Her parents had tried in vain to pacify her, despite pleading in the most patient tone. If I were the child, I would be defiant too because they both looked defeated.

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