“Are you ever going to move back to New York City, Genevieve?” asked the girl she had come to know extremely well. She thought back to the events in October when she was 18.

Genevieve wrapped her coat tighter around her body; October in the city was never pleasant. The winds howled and the temperatures dropped. Her chocolate brown hair blew into her face, slightly blinding her. The only good thing about New York City at this time in the year was that it was between tourist times. The summer season was long gone, and it wasn’t quite holiday season yet. This was the time where locals could enjoy the sights of Times Square and Central Park.

She kept walking through the square; she had wanted to do some shopping alone, and not on 5th Avenue where the expensive shopping was. It looked as though a school group was sharing Times Square with Genevieve. She tried avoiding them, but they surrounded her in a minute. She didn’t know what was going on. Then, a boy was telling a girl named Cammie to go faster. Genevieve didn’t know who any of these people were, but she was soon going to find out. The pressure of her back continued until she was shoved onto a bus at the last second before it started moving. Different students kept trying to speak to Cammie, or as some called her, Camilla, but Genevieve just stayed quiet, rather than ruin anything.

When they arrived at The W New York, a girl pulled Genevieve up to her and Camilla’s room. The girl, whose name she didn’t know yet, entered the bathroom and Genevieve called her friend, Isadora, as quickly as she could.

“Hello? Iz?” she questioned as soon as her friend answered the phone. Isadora asked why her friend was calling her when Genevieve was in the restroom of the café Iz was sitting in. Isadora thought that the girl with her was actually Genevieve, but she figured it was the Camilla girl. Gen went on to explain that a school group had taken her as one of their own by mistake. Isadora mentioned that the schoolgirl was coming out of the bathroom and she would inform her friend of what she learned about the girl.

The girl that was currently in the bathroom of the hotel sauntered out.

“Cammie, why are you not getting ready for dinner?” She knew she had to break the news to her.

“Hi, my name is Genevieve Thorton and one of your classmates accidentally pulled me onto the bus instead of your friend McKenzie.” Her phone beeped with a text at that exact moment with a text from her friend: ‘Yeah, the girl is your Camilla.’ “And Camilla is safe with my friend Isadora.”

“Wait, you’re the Genevieve Thorton?”  Gen laughed and knew she had to answer the other girl truthfully.

“Yes, indeed I am. And I’m taking you out for dinner with Iz and Camilla. But first, it would be nice to know your name.”

“Oh, right, um, well my name is Eleanor, but everyone calls me El. I’m not opposed to the idea of going out for dinner, but it might be really hard to get past Mrs. Harrington. She’s really strict and won’t hesitate to send me home.” El explained to Genevieve why she was weary of leaving the hotel.

“Don’t worry. I used to date the owner’s son, so I know him pretty well. I’ll get him to speak to your teacher and you sneak out. If she’s about to see you, I’ll talk to him and make sure she stays with him. It’s a foolproof plan that my friends and I used in high school when we went on trips,” the model assured the nervous girl.
They made their way to the lobby and of course, Mrs. Harrington was there making sure no one left. Gen made her way to the hotel owner and quickly asked him to bring Mrs. Harrington into his office so he could speak with her and El could get out. The plan worked smoothly and soon the two girls were on the street, with the city buzzing, and were ready to hail a cab. Genevieve whistled loudly and a bright yellow taxi stopped on the street in front of the pair.

“75 9th Ave, and make it quick please,” she told the driver and they were off to their dinner. She then turned to the other girl in the cab with her. “I hope you don’t mind Chinese, Buddakan is our favorite restaurant in the city.”

“No, no. Not at all. I love Chinese and Cammie does too,” the girl explained to the model sitting next to her. Soon, they arrived at the restaurant and were seated with the two girls’ friends. They made light conversation for a while until one girl made a suggestion that sparked a huge conversation.

“Cammie, Gen, what if you two switched places for a while to get away from your lives?” Isadora asked of the two. The wheels were turning in the girls’ heads and anyone could tell that they were thinking deeply about it. Iz went on to continue with her thoughts. “I mean, you guys look exactly alike, you seem to dress similarly, and you guys act almost the same. Cammie, I bet you’ve wanted to be a model before, and Gen, you know you’ve wanted a break for a while now. Maybe if you guys go until Thanksgiving and then we could fly out Camilla’s family to spend it in the city.”

“You know, I do like that idea a little bit. I haven’t necessarily wanted to be a model before, but it would be nice to spend a while living on my own in New York City,” Cammie told the rest of the girls as they continued with their dinners. Genevieve had to think for a while; she was weary of change. After having to go through her parent’s divorce, her father remarrying, movie halfway across the country with her mom, her mother remarrying, and moving to New York City on her own before she was even 18, she was not good with dramatic changes. They scared her and stressed her out. Isadora knew of her best friend’s fear and knew she had to address it somehow.

“Look, Gen. I know you’re not good with this, but look on the bright side. This can help you get over your fear of something going terribly wrong,” Isadora tried to convince her friend to think about this. She knew it would be a good chance for her. Genevieve thought long and hard.

“Who would we tell about this? Camilla’s parents? Her friends? Who would I tell that I’m moving?” Genevieve was only thinking about the technicalities of the switch.

“I would tell my friends, but not my parents. They might find out eventually, and they’ll be mad at me. If I tell them I’m going to visit NYU and apply here then I think they’ll be okay. Does this mean that you’re on board with this?” Cammie asked with a hopeful look on her face. She was most excited about getting to live on her own in what she thought was the best city in the country. She was so excited to be living so near to NYU. That was her dream school and she so dearly hoped to get accepted.

“I think so, but I still have to think about it. And I just don’t want your parents to be mad at me or you. If they do find out, you can tell them that Iz moved in with you,” Gen tried to assure the girl that she really would think about it and she would be safe with Iz.
The four girls stayed for a while before it got too late and El and Cammie had to go back to the hotel. They had a long day ahead of them before they had to go back home in 4 days. Gen also had a long day of shoots ahead of her. Gen invited Is to her apartment where they spent the next few hours watching “Forever” and eating Ben & Jerry’s. The thought of having to move again was eating at her all night. She couldn’t sleep because she was thinking about whether or not she wanted to spend almost 2 months in California. She would love to relax in the warm weather, which would be like heaven, but she didn’t think she could do it.

It was Thursday, the day before Cammie and El had to leave, and Gen found herself walking through the city towards the hotel the girls were staying at. Gen was ready to break the news to Cammie. She took the elevator up to their floor and knocked on the door as soon as she stood in front of it. Eleanor let her in and they sat on the couch.

“Okay, Cammie, I’ll do it. I’ll go with you for a week, and you can tell me everything I need to know about your school, life, friends, and anything else, and I’ll give you the basic training on how to be a model. Then you’ll come back to New York for 2 months and I’ll stay in California. I’ll live with your parents, and hopefully they won’t find out about the switch until later,” Genevieve explained what she had planned of the exchange. “Our lives will be sort of be like Freaky Friday in a way.” Cammie leapt up and hugged Gen and they discussed the rest of the plan.

When Genevieve got home, she booked the same flight that the two girls would be on. Iz showed up to say her goodbyes, but promised to visit her as soon as she had the next break. They spent the rest of the night hanging out before Genevieve would leave for almost the next 2 months.

Genevieve thought back to that week almost three and a half years ago. It almost excited her in a way. The change didn’t bother her all that much. The first few months weren’t the greatest, but she had managed to survive them. When she went back to New York for Thanksgiving, it just didn’t feel right to her. New York wasn’t home; it was just a temporary stop on the way to find her real home. The home she grew to love in California, alongside with her two newest best friends, Eleanor and Camilla.