For the rest of that day, Emma and Sofia stayed in their cabin to talk about their lives, exchanging all sorts of stories with each other. As they had fifteen years of life to catch up on this talk continued way into the night with the girls deciding to push their beds together so they could stay up and talk even more. By the time they had finally got into bed properly, the big bar of chocolate that sat between them was finished.
With everything they were telling about themselves, it was ages until they'd got onto probably the most important subject of all: their parents. After they'd pushed their beds together, Emma and Sofia got their halves of the torn picture and pinned them on the wall above their beds, lining them up perfectly as if the picture had never been ripped in the first place.
"Em, what does mom do?" Sofia asked in the darkness of the cabin. It had probably gone well past 1am at this point but this didn't faze either of the girls as they remained wide awake.
"Well, she's in charge of this mechanical engineering research program at the Imperial College in London," Emma replied. "Our granddad ran the program before he died. They work on designing new tech and stuff."
Sofia gave a huge grin. To some that might have sounded like a boring profession but to Sofia it was the most interesting thing in the world. Having heard basically nothing about her mom her whole life she was desperate to learn everything about her and she listened very closely to the all the pieces of information Emma gave her.
Emma continued, changing the subject to their father. "What about dad? What does he do?"
"Oh, dad owns a vineyard. He makes his own type of white wine. It wasn't his plan but he sort of just fell into it and then when it became successful he stuck with it," Sofia shrugged. "But he does enjoy it."
Emma beamed. "Cool," And she paused. "I wish I could meet him."
Sofia gave a mournful smile; she wished she could meet her mom too. There was a silence as Emma and Sofia got more comfortable in their beds.
"You know what I think is really weird, Em?" Sofia spoke up.
Emma turned to look at her. "What?"
"Neither mom or dad ever got remarried. Has mom ever come close?"
"No," Emma laughed. "She's not really about that kind of stuff. She says that she can't focus on relationships because I'm the most important thing in her life."
Sofia let out a small laugh too. "Yeah, dad's never come close either. I wonder why?" She pondered.
"Maybe they couldn't move on from each other after they split up?" Emma suggested.
"Ha, yeah right. If that's the case then why have they gone all these years without talking to each other?" Sofia asked, expressively.
Emma didn't reply, breathing out slowly and another silence fell between the two girls. Then, in almost a whisper as if she was scared to say it, Sofia spoke up.
"Em? What's going to happen after camp is over?"
Emma moved her head so she was facing Sofia.
"What do you mean?
Sofia breathed in. "I mean what's going to happen to us? We can't just go home and pretend that none of this ever happened, pretend that we never met, because honestly? I don't think I could do that."
Emma hadn't considered what would happen when the time came for them to go home and she furrowed her brow.
"I- I don't know what's going to happen." Emma answered truthfully.
Sofia continued. "And it's not as if we can just mention each other to our parents. Like they'd even take us seriously."
She did have a point there.
There had to be a reason why Jyn and Cassian never told their daughters that they were a twin. Emma always assumed that her mum didn't like talking about what happened with her dad because it upset her and ever since they got divorced they hadn't made any kind of contact with each other. Maybe they were both angry at the time but if they met now, nearly fifteen years later, could it be different? From the way they were looking at each other in the torn picture, it was clear that they loved each other so perhaps if they met up they could talk things through and maybe, just maybe, get back together?
Although that's what she wanted, Emma dismissed the idea almost immediately, internally shaking her head; it was stupid anyway. There would be no chance of getting her mum and dad to meet up again after all this time, they had spent fifteen years apart already surely, they could go another fifteen years without talking.
But Emma couldn't just go home after camp and leave Sofia behind unmentioned, not now that they'd met. There had to be a way to keep her and Sofia together while at the same time getting their parents to meet. There had to be a reason why they hadn't been with anyone else since they split up.
Maybe Sofia was right, maybe the reason why they ever remarried or got into another relationship is because they still cared about each other and they won't admit it to themselves. But how would they get them to admit it? Emma racked her brain, trying to think of a solution.
Then it clicked.
"Oh my God! Oh my God!" Emma said, shooting up off her pillow with wide eyes, "I have an amazing, brilliant beyond brilliant idea! I'm being serious! I am a total genius!"
Sofia sat up, somewhat taken aback by Emma's sudden burst of energy. She made sure she was eye level with Emma, curious about what her sudden "brilliant" idea was.
Emma breathed in, ecstatic to share.
"Sofia, you want to know what mum is like, right?" Sofia nodded and Emma continued. "And I'm dying to meet dad. So, what I'm thinking is, and don't freak out, okay?"
Sofia once again nodded in agreement as Emma paused and put her hands together, eyes glistening with excitement.
"What I'm thinking is that we should switch places!"
Sofia's face twisted up into a mixture of shock and astonishment but Emma only carried on smiling.
"When camp is over I'll go back to California as you and you go back to London as me!"
Sofia stared at her sister, her mouth hanging wide open in disbelief.
"Emma! Don't be stupid, that plan would never work in a million years!" Sofia almost screamed.
Of course, Emma would be the one to come up with a ridiculous idea like that; there was no way they could just switch places, they'd get discovered immediately.
But Emma didn't seem to think anything was wrong with it and she gave it all she got to try and convince Sofia to go along with her.
"Oh, c'mon It wouldn't be that hard, we could pull it off! We're twins, aren't we?"
"Emma, we may be twins but we are both completely, one hundred percent different." Sofia said, trying to make her sister see sense.
"So, what's the problem? I'll teach you to be me and you teach me to be you," Emma sighed, as if it was easy. "Look, I can do you already," She said and she shook herself off a bit, pulling her short hair into a ponytail. "Might want to quit while you're behind, Erso." She said in practically flawless American accent. She even got her mannerisms right and Sofia rolled her eyes amused.
Emma quietened her voice as Sofia looked to her side, a brooding expression on her face.
"Please, Sofe. I gotta meet my pa." She said clasping her hands together and exaggeratedly sticking out her lower lip, giving pleading eyes.
Sofia looked over to her, thinking the idea over in her head.
It was risky, extremely risky. There was a big chance that as soon as they got off the plane their parents would realise that Emma wasn't Emma and Sofia wasn't Sofia, ruining the whole thing and sending them straight back home.
But, perhaps Emma was right. They already looked alike, maybe it wasn't so hard to pretend to be Emma. It would also mean that Sofia would get to meet her mom which she wanted more than anything. And then there was the case of actually un-switching them; maybe that would be the key to keeping Emma and Sofia together whilst at the same time getting their parents to meet.
"The thing is, you know," Sofia spoke up after there was a lull. "If we do switch, sooner or later our parents will have to un-switch us."
Emma gave a huge grin, nodding slowly. Sofia was finally getting it.
"And when they do they'll have to meet again. Face to face."
"After all this time."
And in that moment Emma knew, she knew that Sofia had agreed to her plan and they both laid back down in their beds.
"See? Told you I was a genius." Emma piped up and the girls both laughed.
They didn't have long until camp was over so if there was any chance of pulling this off they had to get to work right away.
For the next few days, much to the puzzlement of the campers and camp staff, Emma and Sofia became inseparable.
Formerly sworn rivals, they now never left each other's side as they chatted happily, ignoring the confused looks from the onlookers. Everyday both Emma and Sofia learnt something new and they would pay extreme amounts of attention to each other, soaking up everything they were told; Sofia would learn what life was like in London and Emma would learn what life was like in California.
At breakfast that morning, the girls sat cramped up on the small isolation table, their food sitting untouched, as they talked to each other. Sofia presented Emma with a few photos from back home.
"This is Leia Organa. She's an old friend of dad's," She said sliding the picture over to Emma. "She was the first person he met when he came into the country."
Emma beamed at the picture; it was a photo Sofia had taken of Leia curled up on a chair in their back garden reading a book. She looked peaceful in the photo, her features small and slight with her brunette hair plaited all the way round her head. She was really beautiful and she looked kind enough.
"She's really nice and smart; she used to study politics at UCLA in Los Angeles." Sofia finished.
Sofia then went on to show Emma pictures of her house, a gorgeous Mediterranean style home surrounded my green hills, the sun shining in the picture making the house look golden. It wasn't a massive house but it wasn't small either. The back garden looked over the entire vineyard and Emma loved it.
Sofia smiled when she saw Emma's look of awe. "We've lived there since I was six."
"It's beautiful." Emma muttered to herself but loud enough so Sofia could hear her and Sofia reached over to gather up her photos. It was then Emma's turn to show Sofia her pictures and she pulled them out of her jacket pocket, putting them in front of Sofia.
"I only really have two main people in my life, and Chewie of course. I know you've already seen a picture of them but I thought you'd want to see more."
Sofia glanced down at the photo Emma handed to her: It was a picture of Jyn hugging Emma from behind as they were standing in what looked like a theme park, a huge towering rollercoaster in the background, both with huge grins on their faces. Sofia's eye's flicked over to her mom and the corners of her mouth turned up.
"It's from when we went to Thorpe Park a few years ago. Han took the picture." Emma spoke up.
The other photo was taken in front of Emma's house on her first day of school; a five-year-old Emma stood in the gateway, dressed in a school uniform wearing a toothy grin, one of her front teeth missing. Emma's house was a classic London townhouse with a blue door and Sofia thought it looked like a house you'd find in a novel; It was nice.
"I can't wait to get there." She said, looking back up at Emma and she was met with the same enthusiastic look.
Emma understood how she felt as she too couldn't wait to get to California. She wasn't just excited to see the house and meet Leia, she was also excited, more than excited in fact, to meet her father. She knew that Sofia felt the same way about mum so the two carried on exchanging stories from their lives, not missing out any details.
With all the teaching that was taking place, time moved by really quickly.
The girls showed pictures, taught each other the layout of their homes, staying up all night talking. Sofia even taught Emma a little bit of Spanish just in case which turned out to be pretty funny.
Emma had trouble pronouncing some of the sounds and she couldn't properly do the accent and this left Sofia in a fit of laughter.
"Haven't you have ever learnt Spanish at school before?" She asked, trying to stifle her giggles.
"Uh, I got a C in it last year." Emma shrugged and Sofia laughed even harder but she calmed herself down slightly.
"Well, it's okay because I don't fully know it either. This is just in case." And after a quick pause she broke out into laughter again so Emma grabbed a pillow and leaned over to hit her with it; which shut her up alright.
More and more learning took place after that and by the final two nights of camp, Emma and Sofia were well versed in the subject of each other's lives. They even quizzed each other to make sure that they fully remembered everything but they'd probably left the most important thing till last.
Sofia stared in the mirror that evening as her hair sat free over her shoulders; she looked at it almost mournfully.
She took a deep breath as Emma walked over to her, scissors in hand.
Sofia scrunched her face up in discomfort. "Do we really have to do this?" She asked, hunching her shoulders up.
Emma raised her eyebrows. "Sofe. There is no way hair can grow that fast over the course of four weeks. Get real. Besides I'm only cutting off two-inches, max. Just to make our hair the same length." And Sofia made a noise of reluctance.
"But what if you mess up?!" Sofia exclaimed.
"Then you can cut my hair so we're even." Emma said.
Sofia nervously rolled her eyes but then after a quick, calm glance at Emma she closed her eyes and exhaled loudly to prepare herself. After a pause she opened her eyes with determination.
"Okay! Just do it. Besides you said I could use a haircut, right?" Sofia chuckled nervously.
Emma laughed through her nose, remembering the comment she made about Sofia's hair when they first met, before composing herself and nodding, looking at her own hair which sat just below her shoulders. Then she took a strand of Sofia's brown hair in her hand and carefully placing it between the blade of the scissors. And she cut.
The action made her jump a little as the hair fell to the floor and Emma got another strand and cut again. She didn't think that hairdressing would be one of the activities available for her to do at camp but at least she was finding it fun.
Sofia, on the other hand, found it completely and entirely nerve-racking and the whole time she sat whimpering in her seat, eyes tightly shut. It's not as if she didn't trust Emma, she knew she'd do her best. But Emma's best could turn out to be a complete disaster so Sofia couldn't stop making anxious noises in her seat.
She didn't open her eyes until Emma said she was done. Emma put the scissors down on the dresser and pulled the mirror into place so that Sofia could see what she looked like with her new, shorter hair.
Sofia looked at herself with wide eyes, her mouth hanging open. She was surprised that shorter hair actually looked good on her.
"Oh my God!" She exclaimed. "I look exactly like you." She said turning to Emma.
Emma laughed. "I should think so! You're supposed to, aren't you?" And she reached over to put her arm around Sofia's shoulder, giving her a warm squeeze.
"Now we really do look like twins."
Sofia moved her head to look at her, grinning.
It wasn't long now until they'd go home, until they switched lives. One way or another they had to get their back parents back together.
And they wanted more than anything for this plan to work.
Finally, Emma and Sofia's time at Camp Redwood came to a close.
The final day of camp was just as busy as the first. People were running around, getting on buses and saying goodbye to their friends and various camp staff. Even Jenny came up to the girls and wished them goodbye, hugging them as she did which came as a pleasant surprise to both of them. Sofia had also managed to find Jess before she left and they exchanged numbers with Emma doing the same but for Violet and Milo. They didn't talk much the final weeks of camp but they were still friends.
In the crowd of hundreds, Emma and Sofia stood ready to say their final goodbyes to each other.
After checking the documents for the final time, Emma handed Sofia her passport.
"Okay here's your plane ticket. Han will meet you at Heathrow airport when you land."
Then Sofia handed Emma her documents.
"And here's your passport and plane ticket. Dad will pick you up after you get to LAX." She replied and Emma reached out to take them as a silence hung between them.
"This is it," Sofia breathed out, taking the passport and plane ticket out of Emma's hand. "Are we really doing this?"
Sofia found it slightly weird to see her sister in her clothes, of course, they fit her perfectly, but it really looked like they were the same person.
"Yes! We can't turn back now," Emma's voice was filled with determination. "Remember, you're finding out why mum and dad split up."
"And you're finding out how they met." Sofia responded.
There was a moment of pause between the girls until they were interrupted by the voice of a camp counsellor on the megaphone.
"Erso, Emma! Your cab is here."
"That's me. When do you leave?" Sofia asked.
Emma shook her head. "Not for a couple of hours. Give mum a hug for me?" She said, leaning forward to embrace Sofia.
Sofia hugged back tightly. "And give dad one from me."
"Last call, Erso, Emma!" The counsellor shouted again.
And Sofia gave Emma a hopeful smile before she gathered up her things and ran over to the cab, her luggage being put in the back of the car. She said a speedy goodbye to the camp staff member and then got in the cab.
Emma watched as the cab slowly pulled out of Camp Redwood, driving away and she crossed her arms over her chest whilst also crossing her fingers.
"Good luck." Emma whispered to herself as she fully realised the scope of what she was about to do.
A small part of her was extremely nervous about meeting a man she technically didn't know, despite the fact that she had wanted to meet him for as long as she could remember. But even so, she felt like she wanted to run up to someone and tell them the whole plan to get out of it.
But a larger part of her immediately rejected the idea. She had to meet her dad, she just had to. Even after all the teaching Sofia had given her and the fact that they could imitate each other perfectly, Emma still felt anxious about going to California knowing that Sofia was on the other side of the Atlantic in London as her.
But she knew that it was worth it. It was definitely better than staring at a half torn-up photograph for the rest of her life.
This was definitely the right thing to do.
