Chapter 1: Reset (Cindy Stone)

"Cindy, darling, you know that our time together meant the world to me"

"You don't care about me at all, do you?" Cindy allowed her eyes to mist up, her voice cracking in the right places.

"Stop the act. We both are using each other and I just wanted to have us on the same page before we go back to America." The old man sighed and took a bite into his croissant.

"Will I see you again?" Cindy asked, knowing the answer was no.

He chuckled. "I certainly will miss you, is that good enough?"

Cindy had enough of him, so she fled to her hotel room to pack some of her things before going to the airport. Clothes, makeup, everything was in the suitcase except for the clock.

It was an unusual clock. It looked like The Thinker and was made by one of Cindy's exes. She didn't understand why she kept it. It was rather heavy, and she didn't like to keep mementos. But she allowed herself to think back to the guy who gave it to her.

Larry Butz. Everything about him was as unfortunate as his last name. He wasn't rich, wasn't all that smart, very needy, and slightly creepy. But there was still something cute about him. The way he would completely devote himself to a girl, spending everything he didn't have, and tolerate almost any treatment.

Cindy didn't want to admit it, but she led him on just to see his reactions. His little temper-tantrums, the puppy dog eyes, it was actually kind of sweet when he stood outside her apartment in the rain for four hours straight.

Pushing the thought aside, she shoved the clock back into her suitcase. Cindy made a mental to reset it as soon as she got home.

While on the plane, Cindy pondered on her life so far. Being a model, not getting nearly enough recognition, making most of her money off old guys who were… less than ideal partners. Cindy was semi-successful, but she wasn't happy. Deep down, she wanted her ideal man to come around, sweep her off her feet, and they would live together, having a passionate relationship.

But that couldn't be, not with Cindy's reputation now… More than anything she wanted to start over. She knew that this wasn't the first time she wished this, and it wouldn't be the last.

If I could just hit the reset button to my life… I would change so much, maybe get an extra job instead of going to sugar daddies. I don't know… You know what? How about I stop whining and actually do something for once. My income isn't something I can change, but maybe I can stop going around with every company executive with money. Yeah, a steady boyfriend sounds nice, maybe one with decent income, no, stop thinking about money. Maybe I should give Larry another chance, no, that's just being silly. I should probably get some sleep…

Closing her eyes, Cindy fell into a restless sleep. She was woken up by the flight attendant, and after that was a blur. Lights, people chatting, piles of luggage, calling a taxi, Cindy couldn't recall any of the details.

Arriving to her apartment, Cindy opened her suitcase, looked at it for two seconds, put the clock on the table, and decided she did enough unpacking for now. Laziness wasn't just the problem. Cindy was hungry, had a headache, and was seriously jet-lagged.

After getting something a sandwich and some coffee at a nearby café, Cindy started to walk back to her apartment, passing by the ugly green phone booth at the park. She considered calling her manager, and make it clear that there was no way she was going to do a photo shoot tomorrow morning, but her paycheck couldn't handle that.

The first thing Cindy did was plop on the couch and reached for the remote, but then she heard the sound of the door opening. Oh, right, she forgot to lock the door. But who could be at the door?

She turned and got out up, seeing a man wearing a purple suit. Cindy didn't recognize the guy and reached for the phone, but he struck first.

She didn't even have the chance to have any significant final thoughts.

What the hell? What…..

*'**"***"**'*

After acquainting herself with the friendly courtroom ghosts, Cindy Stone watched her own murder trial.

Being unable to do anything almost drove her crazy. And that old guy with the gray suit had no right to talk about her like he knew her. Larry definitely didn't kill her, but the way he talked made Cindy wonder why she dated him in the first place.

The lawyer guy was actually pretty cool, though he had a questionable taste in suits. Cindy didn't like the lady next to him, because she never trusted a lady who exposed herself like that.

It was a good thing that Cindy was dead, otherwise the when the judge proclaimed the 'not guilty' verdict, people would be wondering why that one lady was dancing and making very rude gestures towards Frank Sawit.

During Frank's trial, Cindy could barely contain her laughter the whole time. She didn't even bother to contain it. When justice was served, Cindy didn't have a direction now. So, she just wandered, not knowing what to do. Though she did enjoy haunting clock shops and Larry's dates occasionally…