I'm Just a Puppet and She's Holding the Strings

Sunset.

The perfect time of day to just lose yourself in the natural beauty of the world.

I love to watch the bright sun fade out in a swirl of colours and watch the stars and moon fade into a blanket of dark blue.

It can make one feel so poetic.

At this thought, I chuckled to myself, noticing how ridiculous I sounded.

I took a deep breath and filled my lungs with Greece's warm air.

I looked out at the horizon which was framed at the bottom by the crashing waves. I smiled slightly and curled up my toes into the soft golden sand beneath my feet.

I breathed deeply and pulled myself up, grabbing my surf board that was beside me before walking up the stony steps to the pathway.

I smiled at the friendly people who sent me a welcoming grin as I headed up to my hotel.

I thanked the doorman as he held the door open for me and jumped into the lift as its doors slid open.

I ran a hand through my wet blonde hair that hung lifelessly over my shoulders as I knocked on our room's door.

I stepped inside when my mum opened the door.

"Rachel, honey, you're late. I told you to be back early," She frowned with disappointment.

"Sorry, I was watching the sunset, it was too good to miss," I smiled as I propped my board up in my bedroom and collapsed on my bed.

"Well your dad and Steven have gone out for a while and I said that we'd meet them there in about an hour, is that alright?"

Steven being my brother, of course.

"Do I have to go? I'm really tired mum," I pouted.

"You don't have to but it'd be nice if you did," Mum spoke hopefully.

"Can I sit this one out and I promise I'll come out with you for the rest of the holiday?" I smiled innocently, flashing my teeth at her.

She sighed irritably, "Fine, but you'd better stick to that promise because this is a family holiday, we don't spend enough time together," she rambled on as she walked away.

I rolled my eyes and dragged myself up from the bed before going through my hair with a brush, wincing every time I hit a tangle.

I amused myself with more unpacking until my mum left to meet my dad.

At this point I dropped the clothes I was holding and grabbed a pair of pyjama pants and a top before jumping into the bathroom.

I turned the shower to the right temperature and then looked at myself in the mirror.

My blue eyes were dull with exhaustion but the tiny yellow streaks seemed to gleam as I pushed back my naturally light blonde hair. I bared my teeth to myself which were almost perfect thanks to two years of being called metal mouth by my brother.

I took my earrings out and stripped down before getting a quick shower.

There's nothing better than spending the day in the sun surfing then spending the rest of it lounging around in the comfort of your own... Hotel room.

Eh, it's better than school anyway.

After my shower, I went into the kitchen area and decided to make myself some cheese on toast.

I prepared my food and waited patiently for the toast to cook, amusing myself by looking out of the window that overlooked... Another section of the hotel.

What a fantastic view!

I rolled my eyes at this but kept my gaze outside, scanning the building opposite.

All had their curtains closed due to it being dark now.

Well, all but one.

I tiled my head slightly at this window because I thought I could see someone.

The thing with me is that I can stare and not actually realise that I'm staring, especially when what I'm staring at is a person and they notice I'm staring.

Sometimes my brain just stops working and that's never good.

When my brain actually realised that I was staring idiotically at this boy, it covered it's back by making me smile.

He looked slightly frightened for a second but smiled back, the confusion blatant on his face.

I held a finger up to the window to indicate for him to hold on a second.

I grabbed a notebook and a marker from the coffee table by the couch.

I scrawled a message boldly on it and walked back over to the window, slightly surprised to see him still standing there waiting.

I must've seemed completely insane to him but I seen insane to a lot of people.

He smiled slightly at me and I held the paper up to the window.

He squinted at me and leaned forward to read it.

'Sorry, I didnt realise I was staring. =) '

After a few seconds he smiled before doing the same as I did, holding a finger up to the window before disappearing.

A small smile came on my face when he came back to the window with a piece of paper, the words:

'Don't worry about it, I do it too sometimes'

- Written on it in a dark pink marker.

I chuckled lightly and held a thumb up to him before scrawling 'pink?' on the paper and holding it up to him.

He seemed to go red for a second before he scribbled something else onto the paper and held it up.

'Sister's pen'

I laughed and held a thumb up to him again.

He frowned and scribbled on his paper again.

'Something's on fire!'

As I read this my face contorted to confusion and my nose became aware of the smell of burning.

My eyes widened and I rushed over to the grill, grabbed a towel and pulled out the toast with it, sighing irritably as I saw the blackened bread.

I growled and gave up on the toast, switching off the grill and throwing the toast away.

I ran a hand through my hair and walked back over to the window to find the opposite one empty again.

I felt slightly disappointed because I thought I'd made a new friend but I guess I'd have to live with it.

A few seconds later, as I was about to turn away from the window, the boy came back and noticed me.

He smiled widely and I returned the favour as I watched him grab another piece of paper.

I waited for a bit before he held it up to the window.

'Sebastien'

I held my thumb up to him and grabbed a piece of paper, scrawling 'Rachel' on it and holding it up.

To which he replied 'Nice to write to you, Rachel'. I laughed and answered with 'You too, Sebastien'.

I waved goodbye to him and he imitated me before he left and I headed to fridge.

For some reason, I had a strange feeling that this holiday was going to be different from all the others...