by Edina Davis
“I don’t think so. She was still fast asleep when I came downstairs,” Carolyn replied.
“Couldn’t you check on her?” her mother asked. “We can hardly start without her.”
Carolyn’s good mood evaporated at once. Carina knew just as well as her that breakfast was served at 9.30 am during the holidays. She always overslept and others had to wait for her. If she couldn’t wake up by herself, she should just set the alarm. That’s hardly my problem, she thought furiously. Loudly she said: “Very well, Mum, I’ll check on her.”
She angrily ran upstairs to see if Carina was getting ready. However, she still lay in bed, snoring softly.
This can’t be happening, Carolyn thought with disgust. Because of her I might not get away on time. She went to her sister’s bed and roughly shook her by the shoulders.
“Get up, you sleepyhead. Breakfast is ready,” she called out loudly.
“Let me sleep, it’s the holidays,” Carina grumbled. “I’m not hungry anyway.” With that, she turned to the wall and continued sleeping.
For a moment Carolyn furiously stared at Carina’s back and then ran back into the kitchen.
“Mummy, she doesn’t want to get up. Please let’s have breakfast on our own. After all, I want to go to Eastbourne today,” she said dismally. “I’ll be late.”
“So, you’ll be a bit late, what does it matter?” her mother replied. “We always have breakfast together and it should stay that way.”
“Why don’t you go and tell her to get up,” Carolyn dared a second attempt. “It’s not fair if I miss the bus because of her. Laura is getting on the bus in Newhaven and if I’m not on time …”
“Then you just call Laura and tell her to take a later bus. Where’s the problem, Lynn? Carrie can sleep in during her holidays. We’ll have a coffee now and then wait for her with breakfast.”
“First, Laura could already be on her way to the bus stop. It’s quite some distance from the house. Secondly, I wonder why I always need to make allowances for Carina. After all, it’s also my holiday and I don’t want to waste the whole day. Carina can do whatever she wants, it’s always fine with you. If it were the other way around, you would wake me up.”
Her mother turned red. “That is absolutely not true, Lynn. How can you say such a thing? Of course, I would act the same if it were the other way around. Whatever is the matter with you? You are usually so sensible.”
“Yes, because you and Daddy always expect that of me,” Carolyn said, hardly able to keep her composure.
“Oh, so you want to say that you’re just pretending to be reasonable but are silently grumbling?” her mother asked in anger. “That’s interesting to hear.”
“I’m not pretending,” Carolyn called out in desperation. “I just don’t want to disappoint both you and Dad. But, Mum, look, it’s just important to me to always be on time, because that’s what you taught me. I can take my sandwich and eat it on the way. Please, please, Mum, make an exception, just once. It’s already past ten and the bus will come soon. Besides, it’s far too late now to tell Laura. Please, Mum, let me go, just this once.”
Carolyn’s eyes filled with tears. She didn’t only fear being late but also that her sister would now get wind of her and Laura wanting to go to the Eastbourne beach. Her mother would surely mention it at the breakfast table after this discussion. Carina would become curious and would want to tag along or would just show up there unexpectedly.
“Very well then, go, but just this once,” her mother said to her surprise. “Next time agree to meet a little later, then nothing can go wrong.”
“I will, Mummy. Thank you!” Carolyn quickly put cheddar on a roll, kissed her mother’s cheek and grabbed her swimming bag. Without glancing back, she hurried out of the house, her roll in her hand. Just get out of here quickly before Carina suddenly does come downstairs after all, she thought grimly.
She had just reached the bus stop when the bus drove around the corner. Carolyn jumped in in a flash, as she still feared her sister would come around the corner any second. Laura sat in the back of the bus and waved her over.
When the bus took off, Carolyn heaved a sigh of relief. She did it! Now her good mood returned, and she was looking forward to the meeting with Ben and his friends.
CHAPTER 12
The two friends reached the Eastbourne pier almost to the minute. Carolyn saw Ben from afar, waving at her. Radiant with joy, he welcomed them and introduced them to his three friends.
“This is Carolyn Harris, called Carry. I helped her shopping yesterday.” He cheerfully winked at Carolyn. “And this is Carry’s friend … erm …”
“Laura Carson, called Laura,” Laura said with an impish smile, while giving the three youths a friendly nod.
“Hi, Carry! Hi, Laura!” several voices replied.
Then Ben first introduced Johnny, a lanky youth with flaxen hair and freckles.
“This is my best friend, Johnny Lawrence,” he said. “He lives over in Bexhill.”
Johnny grinned shyly when the girls greeted him with a friendly “Hey, Johnny!” and shook hands with him one after the other. He cast an admiring glance at Laura who appealed to him immediately.
Laura’s impression was similar. What a nice boy, just my type, she thought and couldn’t help turning red.
“And these are Michael Lewis and Jennifer Richards, Mike and Jenny for short, the enamoured love birds,” Ben continued his introductions.
“Hi, Jenny! Hi, Mike! Nice to meet you all.”
“We are also pleased that you came,” Mike said and turned to his girlfriend: “Isn’t that so, Jenny? Ben made our ears ring with his concern whether you’d come. He was singing your praise, Carry. The boy’s got it pretty bad.”
Mike grinned mischievously. He was a good-looking boy with dark hair and light green eyes.
“Yes, that’s true,” Jenny laughed and her blue eyes beamed cheerily, just like her boyfriend’s.
“He couldn’t stop raving about what a smashing girl you are.”
Ben gave her a happy wink and said: “But now show us the cool bathing suit we bought together. I can’t wait to admire you in it!”
Feeling bashful, Carolyn pulled her dress over her head and then stood there somewhat insecurely.
“Wow!” Ben whistled. “Looks really hot! You’re one dishy bird, Carry.”
Carolyn felt embarrassed by the boy’s blatant admiration and she avoided his glance.
“And now let’s all go swimming. First in the water! Come on, Carry!” He held out his hand to her.
“We’ll stay in the sun for a while,” Mike said and Jenny agreed. Johnny didn’t seem to be in the mood for swimming yet either, and Laura remarked: “Why don’t you go ahead; I need to put sunscreen on first. You know why, Carry.”
Laura had very fair, sensitive skin and got sunburned easily.
“Okay, see you later then!”
Ben took Carolyn’s hand and ran towards the sea with her, lifted her up and threw her into the waves. They swam far out and drifted on the water. Carolyn could hardly believe her luck. The sea glittered in the sun and she had a marvellously attractive boy at her side. It was just heavenly! She closed her eyes and imagined floating with Ben on one of the snowy white clouds that slowly passed by in the sky, constantly changing shape.
“Hey, little dreamer,” Ben’s voice tore her back into reality. “Where have you been? Judging by your expression, you were the Sleeping Beauty, longingly waiting to be kissed awake by the prince. Here I am!” His lips approached her mouth, but Carolyn quickly turned her head to the side. She felt caught.
“Oh, how stupid!” she therefore said a little too vehemently. “The sun was blinding me, and I closed my eyes. That’s all! Let’s swim back. The others are bound to be waiting for us.” Her daydreams were just too silly! Ben would certainly think her a silly goose.
When Ben and Carolyn returned to the shore the other four youngsters waved at them cheerfully.
“We want to play water polo. Do you want to join us?” Jenny called out to them.
“We’re in, aren’t we, Carry?” Ben remarked.
“Yes, sure,” Carolyn replied cheerfully.
The six teenagers enjoyed the game immensely. Carolyn and Laura got along well with Ben’s friends from the beginning, especially with Jenny. They immediately took to the dainty girl with long dark blonde curls. Therefore, a natural familiarity developed among the three girls within a few hours.
Later they all had ice cream and lazily lay in the sun. Laura and Johnny often exchanged furtive side glances.
It was a marvellous day and Ben and his friends accompanied Carolyn and Laura to the bus stop in the early evening.
“Today was a smashing day,” Ben beamed. “Shall we meet again tomorrow, or do you already have other plans?”
“No, we don’t,” both girls said as one.
“Great,” Ben laughed, “then we’ll all meet tomorrow, same place, same time, is that okay?”
“Okay,” said Carolyn. Then, however, she remembered her mother telling her to set meetings for a later time in the future and so she quickly added: “I can’t be there before twelve, though.”
“Well, you know where we are,” Jenny said. “It’s good that I’m not the only girl among the boys anymore. See you tomorrow then.”
Mike and Jenny said farewell and walked away, arm in arm.
Ben and Johnny waited for the bus with Carolyn and Laura, until it arrived some minutes later. The girls got in and once more waved to the two boys.
Ben blew Carolyn a kiss.
“Ben totally fell for you, Carry,” Laura said, smiling pointedly.
“Do you really think so?” Carolyn asked, embarrassed.
“Sure, the way he was looking at you! And you fell for him as well, be honest!”
Carolyn avoided her friend’s glance. “I … I don’t know … erm … yes, sure, might be possible,” she stuttered.
Laura laughed. “You don’t need to pull the wool over my eyes, Carry. Why should it be an issue?”
The girls remained silent for a while. Then Carolyn suddenly said: “Please, Laura, promise me not to mention to Ben and his friends that I have a twin sister.”
Laura gave her a surprised glance, but said: “Okay, as you wish.” Then she couldn’t help asking: “But why not?”
“Because I just want to feel as if I’m free of her. Can’t you understand that?” Carolyn replied with unusual vehemence.
Laura looked worried and remarked: “You need to learn to come to grips with your situation, Carry. Face the problems with Carina! It’s wrong to gloss over everything when you’re with your parents. They should know how you feel. You always pretend nothing is wrong while you’re bursting with anger inside. That can’t go well in the long run.”
Carolyn remained silent.
“I really worry about you, Carry. You always bottle everything up and one day you’ll explode. You need to talk about the things that burden you, everybody must do that, because that’s the only way to solve conflicts. Please, Carry, I just want to help you.” Laura looked desperate.
Carolyn stubbornly looked out of the window and pretended not to have heard any of the things her friend had told her.
“Carry, please …,” Laura started again, only to be fiercely interrupted by Carolyn.
“Let’s talk about something else, please, Laura. I don’t want my good mood to be spoilt. I finally want to breathe freely. Just once, I want to enjoy the holidays without constantly having to think about her. She smothers me, do you understand? Do you want me to suffocate? Do you want that?” The last words sounded like a quiet but vitriolic hiss.
When Laura looked at her friend, her skin crawled. Carolyn’s face was distorted with rage, her eyes showed an almost cruel expression. Laura now preferred not to say anything else. It was futile, at least right now.
The girls spent the remainder of the bus ride in silence and when they reached Seaford, they didn’t give each other a peck on the cheek, which was their usual way of saying goodbye, but just quickly said: “Bye, see you tomorrow.”
Carolyn jumped out of the bus and ran away quickly, without looking back or waving as the bus passed her.
Laura glanced after her with a heavy heart and sighed.
CHAPTER 13
The next day the sun shone again, and Carolyn tried to restrain her impatience. She was already looking forward to the day with the others. Everything Laura had said to her on the way back in the bus the day before was forgotten. She couldn’t and wouldn’t allow her good mood to be spoilt, so she just banned it from her mind. She had suppressed so many unpleasant events over the years, most of them connected to her sister, that it had become second nature to her.
Fortunately, Carina also crawled out of bed a little earlier today. She had arranged for a trip to Brighton with her two “ladies-in-waiting” Pamela Thompson and Samantha Gillis, Pam and Sam for short. Her hair was tied high on her head with a pink ribbon, into a playful ponytail, and a blond strand loosely fell into her face. She had done her make-up even more carefully than usual and she wore tight white shorts, a pink top with spaghetti straps and matching pink plateau sandals. She looked as if she’d jumped straight out of a fashion magazine.
“Carrie, you look absolutely adorable,” her mother already called out at once.
“Thanks, Mum. We’re planning to go to Brighton today and meet a few friends there. So, I have to look as pretty as possible,” Carina replied coquettishly. “One’s rivals never rest.”
“You don’t need to fear them,” Debbie Harris said with a proud smile. “At least Pam and Sam are no competition for you.”
Carina cast a mocking glance at Carolyn and laughed: “Not only them!”
The words pierced Carolyn’s heart. Still, while making sure her voice sounded indifferent, she said: “Well, in that outfit and with ten pounds of make-up on one’s face there’s nothing to it.”
“You’re jealous, aren’t you?” Carina said with a smirk.
Their mother cast an angry glance at Carolyn. “Get along with each other and let’s have breakfast in peace. I bought croissants today and I also made some cherry jam.”
“Hey, Mummy, you’re the best! I love croissants.” Carina beamed at their mother.
“I know, my dear.” Debbie smiled, feeling flattered. “Now, enjoy, my girls. Bon appétit!”
Carina finished her breakfast very quickly and asked: “Mum, can I leave? I’m really in a great hurry.”
“Yes, run, child,” Debbie Harris replied with a smile, “and have a nice day.”
“Thanks, Mummy.” Carina jumped up, ran to her mother, and gave her a big kiss on the mouth. “You are the absolute best.” And with that she quickly rushed outside.
Carolyn was angry. Why was Carina allowed to leave the breakfast table early, just because she said she was in a hurry? When she, Carolyn, had been in a hurry yesterday, she’d almost had to beg on her knees to her mother so she wouldn’t have to wait for Carina. That was really scraping the bottom of the barrel! But as she was not at all in the mood for a discussion with her mother, she only said: “I’m also done. So, see you tonight, Mum.” She gave her mother a peck on the cheek, grabbed her bag and ran outside.
“Enjoy, Lynn, and please be on time,” her mother called after her.
You’d better tell that to your sweet Carrie, Carolyn thought while running out. After all, she’s the one who’s always late.
The greeting between Laura and her took place in a cooler fashion than usual and they were also both rather quiet during the bus ride.
Still, it became another very nice day with their new friends. The six teenagers played water polo for a while and then l
azily lounged on their towels. Jenny and Mike lived up to their name as enamoured lovebirds and snogged almost the whole time.
Johnny and Laura also gradually got closer. They seemed to understand each other without words and after a while they went into the sea together as a matter of course, and took quite some time, before returning to the others. Therefore, Ben and Carolyn also had enough time to themselves. They walked along the beach hand in hand and occasionally exchanged a lovestruck glance. Later, they again swam far out into sea and drifted on the waves.
A happy smile lit up Carolyn’s face.
Oh, how wonderfully beautiful life is!
Jenny and Mike got up in the early afternoon and said farewell to the others.
“Jenny has the place all to herself,” Mike said with a wink.
Jenny turned red as a beetroot and fiercely poked Mike’s side. He put his arm around her narrow shoulders and placed a tender kiss on the tip of her nose.
“Ah, to be in love,” Ben remarked after the two of them had left. While saying it he looked deeply into Carolyn’s eyes.
That night Carolyn lay awake for a long time, listening to the rushing sea, being carried up to the house by the wind.
How marvellous life could be! And how wonderful everything could be if it weren’t for her sister.
She brooded about how she could manage meeting Ben as often as possible without Carina noticing. She wanted to spend her holidays with Ben and the others without having to waste one single thought on her disliked twin sister. She absolutely wanted to enjoy that time!
Fortunately, Carina had enough friends herself and wasn’t interested in Carolyn in the slightest, but only if she didn’t sense any fresh news. Carolyn decided not to tell Ben about her, even if Laura thought differently, as she had made truly clear yesterday afternoon. But she didn’t want to listen to her friend in that regard. Ben would only become curious and want to meet Carina. Most people became curious when hearing about identical twins. They usually always wanted to see the siblings together to find out whether they could tell them apart. When they did meet them both, most people were rather disappointed as it was not difficult to tell the girls apart. In younger years, their different characters had been apparent, but later they also clearly distinguished themselves in appearance, which was mainly due to Carina’s outfits. She was one inch taller than Carolyn and her lips were a little curvier, but it would hardly have been noticeable if Carina hadn’t started to artfully emphasize those little differences with flashy clothes and a skilled make-up.