Barbie: Beyond the Trip

Stacie

"It's weird, ya know? I mean, I've been here lots of times in the past few years, but living here is a whole other story!"

Barbie laughed and shook her sister's shoulders gently, "That's exactly how I felt the first time I moved to New York. But, hey, at least you're not alone like I was. You have me, Daisy, Nikki, and Ken out here to help you. Plus, there's always Brooklyn who grew up here!"

Skipper smiled and nodded, "For reals! Honestly, I don't know if I could do this without you guys"

It had been two and a half months since Skipper Roberts moved to New York from Malibu. While her parents preferred that she pursued college for any advanced education, the brunette tech genius chose instead to take a gap year. A year off school, she decided, focusing on her business with Rebecca Lee would be the best thing for her entrepreneurship going forward. Although Skipper agreed to at least consider classes after the gap year was over, she made no promises...

Currently, the two sisters were strolling together down the street on the way to their lunch meeting. Skipper was typically busy at LeeTech, designing and scheming and reconfiguring new components and features for her apps which required a lot of her time. So, Barbie offered to meet her for lunch a few days a week in between morning work at the New York Public Library and her own afternoon classes... in addition to their evenings spent living together in the Brooklyn Brownstone as roommates.

What made it more special was that it was just the two of them. Other days Daisy, Nikki, Brooklyn, or Ken would join, but for at least three days a week it was a sister thing, which Skipper and Barbie both agreed they really, sorely needed.

Sisters gotta stick together!

New York was a rough, raw, challenging city to navigate, let alone live in. And while Barbie had Brooklyn's help in the beginning, for the most part she was on her own. Since the other Barbie Roberts was already used to the city, having grown up in it her whole life, the West Coast Barbie wasn't able to confide in or vent to anyone else nearby who was going through the same 'newbie struggles'.

Skipper was grateful for her friends and sister... and now halfway through the month of October, they were looking forward to the cooler weather settling in up in the New England states.

More or less... Skipper still preferred the sun and surf...

As they walked down the sidewalk, Barbie's phone rang. She pulled it out and answered it, smiling even wider when she saw it was their littlest sister.

"Hey Chelsea!"

"Hey Chels! Wait, aren't you supposed to be in school?", Skipper quipped back, joining into the conversation.

Chelsea rolled her eyes, "It's only 8:30 here. School hasn't started yet, remember?"

Skipper nodded and laughed, reminding herself of the time zone change from the east to the west coast, "Ooooooh yeah! Heh heh. I guess I already forgot about that"

"What's up?", Barbie asked kindly, eager to hear what their youngest sister was calling for.

The little blonde fifth grader bit her lip, glancing around nervously as if she were afraid someone would catch her spilling a secret of some sort. Her odd behavior didn't go unnoticed by her older sisters, though.

"Um... ya'alright, sis?", Skipper asked, curiously lifting an eyebrow at the suspicious and sneaky motions.

Chelsea finished eyeing her surroundings and quickly turned back to the phone, suddenly blurting out her reason for calling, her nose practically touching the screen.

"I think something's wrong with Stacie"

Barbie and Skipper weren't expecting that. The surprise written on their face was obvious to the other girl on the phone. Barbie blinked and lifted her eyebrow curiously. Skipper curled her lip and questioned her little sister.