Invisible

“Why this empty feeling inside?

Because I’ve no place left to hide

The Invisible Girl suddenly gets seen

But you don’t know where I’ve been

Spent my whole life in the shade

While you’ve been dancing in the sun

I hoped your spotlight would fade

And then I’d finally get my turn

It’s never going to happen, I can see

I’m never going to be who I want to be

Sometimes you let your eyes meet mine

Mocking me, ‘cos I’m never going to shine

Sometimes, I think you may have seen

I’m just the person you could have been.”

Scarlett and I are twins, but I don’t think there have ever been two people less alike. I’m always in the shadows, she’s always in the sun. I’m always trying to escape the lime-light, she laps it up.

For the first sixteen years of my life, I was used to that. I liked it. Scarlett's out-going nature meant I didn’t have to be out-going. I could hide behind her.

I don’t quite know when I changed, but, I suppose, it will have started during my seventeenth summer, when we first met Ryan.

You read about summer romances, where the girl and the boy meet on a beach and they fall in love. Well, they do happen. Just not to me.

Scarlett and I lived right by the beach. My Mum used to tease us that we lived on the beach during summer. The trouble is, everyone else did too. During summer, the beach was jam-packed with tourists. Which is why Scarlett and I took to going there early in the morning, when the sun was just rising.

The sky was a pale blue, and the sun was only a gold streak of light. It was still dark, and I shivered.

Scarlett was already ripping off her shoes and socks. “Come on, Sabrina,” she ordered, and, as usual, I did as I was told.

The sand was cold and hard and gritty underneath my feet. It felt so good, squidging between my toes.

“Let’s dance,” commanded Scarlett. I swear, I don’t know where she gets her crazy ideas for. Or why she thinks it’s a good idea to dance and paddle at the same time. Or why I always let myself get dragged into her mad schemes. But she grabbed my hands and we danced together, in a kind of wild jig.

And that’s when I felt eyes on me and I looked up. A boy was watching us, walking lazily across the sand. He looked surreal, like he wasn’t really there, but I think that might have been because immediately after he left footprints, the sea washed it out, so it looked like he hadn’t left a mark.

He was the most beautiful person I had ever seen in my life. I instantly loved everything about him; the way his blond hair fell over his eyes, the way he kept his hands shoved into his pockets. The way he stared at me.

I blushed, because I’m not the sort of person who could flick my hair and be all sassy and: “Yeah, I’m dancing on the beach, so what?”

Scarlett could, though. Scarlett always could. She felt me stop dancing and she turned round. She saw the boy. “Hi,” she said. “You’re up early.”

I wished I could be like her. I wished I could just talk so naturally to strangers. I wished I could be cool.

“I’m Ryan,” the boy said, looking transfixed on my sister, and I felt a stab of pain.

I should have known he would prefer Scarlett. Who wouldn’t? But then his eyes flickered back to me, and he smiled.

“You’re identical twins!”

Scarlett rolled her eyes. “Go ahead and stare. Everyone does.”

“Scarlett!” I nudged her sharply.

“No, Scarlett’s right,” Ryan said. “I shouldn’t be so rude. Allow me to make up for it.” He bowed, pretentiously. “It’s a honour and a privlege to make your acquaintance, Scarlett. And…?” He looked at me.

My mouth was open and I was all ready to answer, but Scarlett did it for me. “She’s Sabrina.” I felt a hot tide of anger wash over me, but I knew it wasn’t fair to feel like that. Scarlett always answered for me, and I usually welcomed it. It meant I didn’t have to speak. So what had changed? Why did I suddenly wish Scarlett a million miles away?

“Hi, Sabrina,” Ryan said briefly, and then he looked back to Scarlett. It was so obvious, the way his voice changed from cool to warm, as he said: “Hey, Scarlett.”