Chapter 8 - Chance Encounter

The nice Spanish old man had already provided Simon with a great deal of convenience when he had checked in. If possible, he didn't wish to cause him any inconvenience. Not to mention, if he left the hotel, it would be difficult for Simon to find a better place to stay in a short time.

After thinking about it, Simon approached Roger Griffin after his shift to discuss whether he could receive his first week's wages in advance.

The stingy convenience store owner did not refuse, but said that the wages of everyone in the store was only be settled once a week. Since Simon had only worked for three days, he would only be paid for the three days that he had worked.

Simon didn't plan to argue with Roger Griffin over a few dozen dollars, so he readily agreed. Including the remaining ~$50 in his pocket, three days' wages were enough to pay the rent. He also planned to find another part-time job with a more flexible system of settling the wages.

Maybe because Simon didn't argue over the advance, Roger Griffin felt a little embarrassed, and rounded up his three days worth of wages i.e. $60 to $100.

* * *

Leaving the convenience store, Simon walked for more than 20 minutes before he arrived at the motel where he was staying.

The motel was a white two-story wooden building with a typical "u-shaped" layout. It contained over a dozen rooms. It also had many parking spaces in between the "u-shaped" layout.

The afternoon sunshine felt just right. Simon walked towards the patch of grass next to the empty parking lot where he saw a leisurely Diego Salcado, sitting in beach shorts with a guitar in his arms, playing and singing.

During his previous life, Simon used to think that the guitar was a young man's instrument. After playing for a while in college, he never touched it again. However, in the eyes of Westerners, there was obviously no such constraint since music was a part of life in the West.

After he found a chair, Simon sat down beside the old Spanish man and listened quietly for a while.

The old man was playing an old song called Blue Suede Shoes which had been remastered by Elvis Presley.

'If you don't consider his singing, his guitar skills are just barely passable,' he subconsciously thought.

He suddenly felt surprised that he made such an evaluation about the old motel owner. His own guitar skills had only extended until strumming a few chords, let alone being able to play an entire song like the old man. Although the old-school vibe of Blue Suede Shoes did not match Simon's taste, it was undeniable that playing the song on the guitar was very difficult.

However, after a little thought, Simon understood why he had subconsciously made such an evaluation.

Among the twelve souls dormant inside his mind resided a top Hollywood music director. The guitar is an entry-level instrument that almost every musician is skilled at playing. It's only natural that the old man's guitar skills would only be considered "passable" to a top music director.

Meanwhile, the old man continued to leisurely sing the song before he turned to Simon and asked in Spanish, "Why are you back so early today?"

Simon smiled, pulled out his wallet and gave the $100 bill to the old man before he replied in Spanish, "Diego, this is my rent for last week. I also wanted to thank you for taking care of me during this time."

The old man nodded, took the money, but glanced at Simon and asked, "Without this $100, will you be able to feed yourself?"

"I'll be fine," Simon shook his head and replied, "I found a church nearby where I should be able to get some food stamps."

The old man laughed when he heard Simon's words and said, "I like you, young man. So, do you know how to play the guitar?"

Simon saw the old man handing him the guitar and felt a little confused doubts, but subconsciously began fiddling with the chords and began playing Blue Suede Shoes like the old man.

Just as sound from the guitar sounded, the old motel owner couldn't help but shake his head. 'This boy has played the guitar before, but he is not very skilled,' he thought.

However, seeing Simon concentrating on playing, the old man did not interrupt him.

Then, the old man witnessed a miracle that left him dumbfounded.

Within just ten minutes, Simon's playing went from jerky to skilled at a jaw-dropping speed. The old man was only an amateur at playing the guitar, so it was difficult for him to truly understand Simon's skill with the guitar.

When Simon finally stopped playing, the old man immediately asked, "Young man, have you learned to play the guitar before?"

Simon was also very surprised by his performance. He could only attempt to vaguely explain it to the old man, "I played many years ago."

The old man obviously couldn't understand the truth behind Simon's "many years ago", but he still felt surprised at his skills.

"In that case," the old man took his guitar back and put it in its case. He then handed it back to Simon and said, "Give me your backpack and take this to Venice Beach. It's currently tourist season. If you play there for a few hours, with your skills, the money you'll make in tips will be be enough to feed yourself for the next few days."

Simon happily handed over his backpack that he had never separated from, and took the guitar case. He cheekily smiled at the old man and said, "Diego, since you have already lent your Gibson guitar to me, it shouldn't be a problem to lend your car as well, right? Venice Beach is quite far from here, and it will dark by the time I return."

"You child," the old man shook his head, but still took out the keys to his car and handed them to Simon, but he didn't forget to say, "Don't forget to come back."

* * *

The long coastline of Los Angeles has many famous beaches, but one of the most visited beaches is undoubtedly Venice Beach, located adjacent to Santa Monica Beach.

Venice Beach during the summer is even more lively.

In addition to the countless tourists from all over the world, the residents of Los Angeles also come to Venice Beach where all kinds of street performers, artists, painters, cyclists, roller skating enthusiasts et al appear, making the entire beach seem like a lively carnival.

After arriving at Venice Beach, Simon spent $2 on a parking ticket, and then walked towards the pier with the guitar on his back.

Soon, Simon stopped at a location on the pier where many people were gathered.

Putting the guitar case at his feet, and holding the guitar in his arms, Simon randomly selected Elton John's Rocket Man from his memory and began to sing and play in cohesion.

His superb guitar skills that flowed out subconsciously quickly attracted the attention of the passers-by. Although Simon rarely spoke with anyone, there were many tourists in twos or threes who heard him play for a while before putting down some change and leaving.

* * *

The sun had unknowingly set as the orange-red light shone behind Simon, turning his shadow longer and dimmer.

From four o'clock to now, Simon had played for nearly three hours, did not feel tired.

After looking down at the guitar case filled with coins, Simon felt that maybe he didn't need to find a second part-time job, and that he could spend his time on other things.

He was about to finish singing the last song, and pack up when he noticed a hand reaching towards the guitar case from the side.

It was a slender, beautiful hand with fiery red nail polish.

It was obviously a woman's hand.

These thoughts flashed through Simon's mind, but he suddenly realized that the beautiful woman's hand didn't put any money in the guitar case, but rather reached towards the only $10 bill.

'What the ****!' he thought.

So, Simon lifted his right foot and gently stepped on the "evil" hand.

The owner of the hand didn't seem to anticipate such a move by Simon, nor did Simon expect that the owner of the hand wouldn't dodge his foot. As a result, when Simon's right foot fell, a loud female voice sounded beside him.

"Owww, boy!! How can you step on someone?!! You damned boy!"

Simon reluctantly held down the chords, retracted his foot, and turned his head to the side.

Janet Johnston, who was squatting next to the guitar case, was staring at him accusingly, without any guilt in her eyes despite being caught redhanded.

Kathryn Bigelow stood beside her friend with a helpless expression and smiled apologetically at Simon.

Simon ignored the crazy woman who was still squatting on the ground, and smiled at Kathryn. After his meeting with Jonathan Friedman last week, he had called Kathryn, but unfortunately no one had answered, so he could only leave a message.

He hadn't expected to encounter her at this time.

Kathryn was still wearing a simple plaid shirt and trousers today like last time.

Simon looked her up and down, and said, "What a surprise, Kathryn. Why are you here?"

Although his eyes were not aggressive, Kathryn still felt a little shy, and avoided Simon's gaze as she replied, "Jenny's art studio is nearby. I had been at a production meeting in Beverly Hills this afternoon, so we decided to come here."

Simon nodded and said, "Is it for Near Dark? How are the preparations going?"

"The casting is almost done, but the production company ran into some funding problems. It may take a few months before we can begin filming," Kathryn paused and then said, "I heard your message. Mr. Friedman also called me. He was praising you heavily, but he was very surprised by your age."

Simon smiled, glanced at his watch, and said, "I still haven't thanked you. How about dinner?"

Feeling that she was being ignored by Simon, Janet was getting annoyed, so when she heard him invite Kathryn to dinner, she immediately pointed at the change in his guitar, and mockingly said, "Little boy, you won't use that money to pay for dinner, right?"