Taking Off
Chapter 19
Chapter 19
“You may start now,” the speakers blurted.
About five hundred sheets of paper turned at once, a precise and daunting ruffle. Katie remembered Fiona’s advice and read all the exercises once. Her brain started to work out the answers and she chose to tackle number two first. As Fiona had promised, she gained momentum as she waded through the questions.
English, Physics, French and Geography followed Maths. Every day, she travelled down to Croydon and flexed her mind with crosswords and sudoku puzzles on the train. Unlike others, she didn’t revise or read her notes while waiting outside the examination room. Instead, she stretched her upper body and focused on her breathing. Once the exam of the day had been completed, she rewarded herself with a full English breakfast at a cafe near the station then headed back to Loughborough Junction.
The week came and went. She lost grasp of time and space but she managed to control her emotions and sense of purpose. The following days, though, challenged her. Nothing to do but wait. Sure, she had to attend work but it didn’t help with distracting her as all her colleagues and regulars enquired about her GCSEs.
The Friday after her last exam, among the usual pile of junk mail delivered through the door, Katie spotted a letter from Airdrive. Someone had handwritten her address on the thin envelope. She tore it open and read the single sheet inside, a one sided affair, two paragraphs.
“We are concerned regarding your past alcoholism and, therefore, we will no be accepting you on our pilot training course. However, we would be happy to consider you for our other courses.”
The dirty word, naked and bold. She slumped on the chair, dropped her head to the table and sobbed.
Later, she read it again and another sentence jumped at her.
“The reference letter brought forward a medical issue.”
Her ears rang from the blood rushing around. Matt had provided the reference letter, he couldn’t have mentioned her past alcoholism, this was all a mistake.
***
Katie opened the door and begged Fiona not to comment on her messy face and hair. Fiona prepared two cups of tea while Katie stared out of the window, her hands clutching the torn envelope.
“So, are you going to show it to me?”
“Yes,” Katie said. “Tell me what you think.” She handed out the letter to Fiona and returned to her framed view of the street.
Fiona swallowed a gulp from her drink, grimaced at the heat and concentrated on the paper in front of her. Halfway through reading it, she screamed. “What? What a wanker! I’m shocked he’s done this.”
“I still can’t make up my mind about it.” Katie faced her friend and threw her hands in the air.
“About what?”
“If it’s true, his letter.”
“How else would they know? You didn’t get anyone else to write you a reference, did you?”
“No.”
“Clear as water.”
“I can’t believe he would be so stupid, he must have known it would play against me.” Katie shook a little and steadied herself on the wall.
“Stupid? Evil you mean.”
“What are you saying?” Katie moved to the sofa and let herself fall on it. Her legs bounced around a little until she tucked them underneath her.
“Have you argued with him recently?”
“No. I mean, we often argue a bit, you know what I mean, but nothing serious.”
“You get on with Charlene?”
“Yeah, she’s cool.”
“Your mum? Jim?”
“All good.”
“What is he up to at the moment?”
“Who? My step dad?”
“No, Matt.” Fiona sighed.
“He’s studying to be-”
“He’s studying?”
“Yes, to be a special needs nurse.”
“That’s it. He’s jealous.”
“Do you think?” Katie punched her fist into the armrest. “You’re right, you’re totally fucking right. And there was me thinking he was looking after me when he was questioning my mental ability to do this.”
Katie stood up, reached for the kitchen counter, opened the second drawer from the left and dug out a chocolate bar. She offered to split it with Fiona but Fiona passed so she shoved the whole thing into her mouth, biting the sweetness with all the strength of her jaws.
“He questioned it?”
“Yes. We had a chat about being strong mentally, that kind of stuff.”
“Was he trying to put you off?”
“Yes.”
“As I said, wanker.”
“What am I going to do? It’s all over now.”
“No, it’s not over. At the very least, you have your GCSEs.”
“I don’t know yet if I’ve passed.”
“Of course you have, don’t be silly. That will open some doors, even if you can’t go to Airdrive.”
“There’s no if, they said I can’t go on the course.” Katie drank some water to rinse her palate.
“In the last paragraph, they said they were happy to talk to you.”
“I don’t want to do another course.”
“I know. But maybe you can talk to them into trying you out.”
“I don’t see how.”
“Are you going to give up now? You’re so close, you’ve got to give it a shot.” Fiona raised her arm in encouragement.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Will you help me?”
“Sure, I’m a great liar my mother always tells me. That might come in handy when concocting a story about your past medical issue, as they call it.” Fiona laughed.
***
Katie called in sick the following day and travelled to Airdrive offices in Guildford.
“I would like to speak to the admission officer.”
“Have you got an appointment?”
“No.”
“All meetings are by appointment only.”
“It’s very important. There is a problem with my application.”
“Have we been in touch with you?”
“Yes.”
“And we said there was a problem with your application?”
“Yes.” Fiona had advised Katie to pull all the strings she could but Katie’s heart raced too much for her to ignore it so she grabbed the edge of the partition separating her from the receptionist to balance herself.
“Have you brought in a new application?”
Katie smiled.
“Who is dealing with your case? John Hut or Cyndia Collins?”
Katie had never actually read the bottom of the letter but she recalled the illegible signature. “John Hut.”
“Go and wait in room five, third door on the right, I will send John down.”
In the stuffy room, Katie’s throat itched and she helped herself to a glass of water from the dispenser in the corner. Through the half shut blinds, she gazed at Guildford. She repeated her first sentence to herself several times but she couldn’t think past it, she couldn’t construct the next one.
“I’m John Hut. I understand there has been a mix up with your application. How can I help?”
“I’m sorry to disturb you like this but this is really important.”
“I’m listening.”
“I… My brother… My reference letter is wrong.”
“What do you mean?”
“My brother wrote it and he played a trick on me.”
“Are you telling me the reference letter is fake? This is a very serious matter.”
“No, no. I’m telling you my brother lied in it.”
“Lied about what?”
“He said I used to be an alcoholic. That is not true.” Katie slammed her almost empty glass on the table and a few drops splashed out.
“Let’s start from the start. What is your name?”
“Katie. I mean, Katherine Trebworth.”
“Oh yes, I do remember you. I believe we have rejected your application on grounds of health? My colleague Cyndia Collins dealt with it, I’m afraid I cannot tell you more.” John stood up and opened the door.
“Could I see Cyndia?”
“She’s on leave for two weeks.”
“Who is replacing her while she’s on leave?”
“I’m deputising for her but I wouldn’t come back on one of her decisions.”
“I just want you to listen to what happened. Perhaps you can tell her when she’s back?”
John sighed and closed the door. “You have two minutes.” He filled up a glass of water for himself and leant on the wall, sipping from his plastic cup.
“I asked my brother to write a reference letter for me. Unfortunately, he doesn’t want me to go back to study, he is jealous, and he wrote an erroneous letter, in which he stated I used to be a chronic alcoholic. I did seek medical advice regarding my alcohol consumption six or seven years ago but it was never a serious problem. In the letter you sent me, it said my application was rejected because of my past alcoholism. I would like you to reconsider, based on these new facts.”
“I see. Were you treated by a doctor?”
“I went to psychoanalysis. I never needed any physical detox.”
“If you could provide a letter from your doctor stating you haven’t touched alcohol in five years, we might reconsider your application. Send it within two weeks and Cyndia will look at it when she’s back. I haven’t seen your original reference letter so I cannot say if this would help or not.”
“Thank you. Thank you so much.”
“Don’t get your hopes up, Cyndia will probably stand by her initial decision. Pilots are under enormous pressure, especially in the current climate, and we require students with a strong mind.”
“I understand. Thank you.”
