Thalia slumped up to the front porch. She hated babysitting, but she needed the money desperately. The gravel path crumbled under her combat boots. She pushed the crooked doorbell and was greeted by a lanky middle-aged woman. She introduced herself as Claire. Claire studied Thalia for a beat before she decided to let her in. Thalia mentally facepalmed for making a bad impression. She felt uneasy about babysitting for the first time, so she brought her bow and quiver. Stupid move. Also, she neglected to tame her mane and wash the blue dye out. The leather jacket wasn't doing her much good either. Still, she was let in. Claire didn't seem too phased.
Claire led her into a drafty living room where Thalia had a seat on a worn beige couch as Claire gave her instructions. She tuned out completely around "bedtime." But she noticed details. Claire had natural blonde hair up in a high bun. She seemed a bit on the fence about leaving her four year old boy home for the first time. But Thalia noticed something else. She looked straight into Claire's eyes and saw vivid blue. They were so familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on where she had seen them before. It felt like so long ago.
Claire finished her droning speech and led Thalia up a quivering carpeted staircase. Thalia became quiverry herself. She kept growing more nervous with each step, that static electricity began to crackle between her boots and the carpet every time she climbed one more step. When she reached the top one, her feet were aching.
Claire led Thalia down a narrow hallway until they arrived at a little boy's door. It was decorated with his drawings: trains, cars, greek soldiers fighting to the death, and all the other things little boys liked. She wasn't surprised because Jason drew stuff like that all the time when he was little. Thalia said goodbye to Claire and cracked open the bedroom door. She immediately spotted the baby blue walls, and the same colored shelves that held an infinite amount of model vehicles, like on the door. She noticed that something was missing from her line of sight. The little boy. She spotted him backed up in a corner, reading. Thalia slowly approached, not wanting to frighten him. She crouched down to his eye level and said, "Hey kid, my name's Thalia." He didn't reply for a beat, but he finally tore his eyes from his book and stared her right in the face. He smiled a smile with some missing teeth and said, "Hi!" Thalia instantly became nostalgic. She came closer to the little boy. She noticed his distinct features for the first time. Wavy, sandy hair, blue eyes brighter than Claire's, distinctive cheekbones, and worst of all, a faint white scar running from his right eyeball all the way down to his chin.
Thalia stumbled back in horror. With tears running down her cheeks, she realized that this little boy was the reincarnation of her old friend, Luke Castellan.
