The kind-hearted Spanish old man had already given Simon a lot of convenience when he checked in. If he left that hotel, it would be difficult for Simon to find a better place to stay in a short time.
After thinking about it for a while, Simon went to Roger Griffin after the shift in the afternoon to discuss whether he could pay a week's salary in advance.
The supermarket owner, who had great potential as a shopper, did not refuse, but said that everyone in the store would only be paid once a week. Simon only worked three days this week. If he wanted to settle the salary in advance, he would only get three days' salary this week.
Simon had no intention of grinding his teeth with Roger Griffin for a few dozen dollars, so he readily agreed. Three days' salary, including the remainder in his pocket, was enough. As for the time difference that will occur next week, Simon also plans to find another temporary part-time job with more flexible settlement.
Then, Simon's straightforwardness made the fat middle-aged man, who was not too bad after all, a little embarrassed, so he collected a round amount for him and paid 100 US dollars with his conscience still intact.
After leaving Griffin Supermarket, Simon walked for more than 20 minutes back to his hotel.
This is a typical motel with a concave shape, a white two-story wooden building with more than ten rooms in total, and several cars parked in the yard.
Itβs sunny in Los Angeles in the afternoon.
Walking into the courtyard, Simon saw Diego Salcado, the owner of the hotel, sitting on the eaves of the porch holding a guitar in his spare time, playing and singing to himself, and seemed to be enjoying himself very much.
Simon once believed that the guitar was basically an instrument for young people. He played it for a while in college, but never played it again after working. But in the eyes of Westerners, where music is a part of life, there is obviously no such conceptual constraint.
Finding a chair and sitting next to the Spanish old man, Simon listened quietly for a while.
The old man was playing "Blue-Suede-Shoes," an old song by Elvis Presley.
If you don't take into account the thick Spanish accent when humming, the old man's guitar skills are still barely listenable.
Simon felt a little surprised when he made this evaluation in his heart.
His own guitar skills were only able to play "My Deskmate" and the like, and he was definitely not as good as the Spanish old man at this time. Although the old-school tune of "Blue-Suede-Shoes" is not at all to Simon's taste, there is no denying that this song is still very difficult to play.
However, after thinking about it for a moment, Simon understood.
There is still a top Hollywood soundtrack engineer in the other twelve memories. Naturally, an entry-level instrument like the guitar is readily available. Moreover, there are also guitar enthusiasts among other versatile Hollywood elites.
The old man finished singing a song leisurely, then turned to Simon and asked directly in Spanish: "Why are you back so early today?"
Simon didn't answer. He just smiled and took out his wallet, took out the 100-dollar bill and handed it to the old man. He also replied in Spanish: "Diego, this is my rent payment last week. In addition, thank you." Please take care of me during this time."
The old man nodded and took the money, but then glanced at Simon's wallet, and said with concern in his teasing voice: "Without this 100 US dollars, you will be hungry soon, right?"
"That's not true," Simon shook his head and smiled: "I found that there is a church nearby, and I should be able to get some food stamps."
When the old man heard Simon's thoughts, he laughed and said, "I like young people like you who are happy-go-lucky, but it's too ungrateful to do this. Now, do you know how to play the guitar?"
When Simon saw the old man handing over the guitar, he was a little confused, but he still held it in his arms and readjusted the strings almost subconsciously before starting to fiddle with the song "Blue-Suede-Shoes" that the old man had just played. γ.
As soon as the tune started playing, the hotel owner couldn't help but want to shake his head. The boy obviously knows a little guitar, but is very raw.
However, seeing Simon looking attentive, the old man did not interrupt.
Then, the Spanish old man witnessed a small miracle that made him a little stunned.
In just ten minutes, Simon's playing turned from raw to skillful at a jaw-dropping speed. The old man is also an amateur in guitar, so it is difficult for him to describe Simon's guitar level in detail.
However, the old man realized very deeply that ten minutes ago Simon's playing level was still a step behind his own. Well, after just ten minutes, this young man's guitar level had already surpassed his own by ten blocks, and even seemed to be a bit like a master's degree.
When Simon stopped playing, the Spanish old man immediately asked: "Son, have you ever learned guitar before?"
Simon nodded. He was also very surprised by his performance just now. He could only vaguely explain to the old man: "I haven't touched it in many years."
The Spanish old man obviously couldn't understand Simon's concept of 'many years', but he finally found a reason for his surprise.
"In that case," the Spanish old man took back his guitar and put it in the case next to him, then handed it back to Simon and said, "Give me your backpack and take this to the beach. Now is the peak tourist season. , I think at your level, playing there for a few hours will be enough for food for the next few days.β
Simon was just stunned for a moment, and then he readily handed over the backpack that had been with him these days, took the piano case and put it on his shoulder. He smiled at the old man a little extravagantly and said, "Diego, I borrow Gibson's guitar." Give it to me, and let me use the car too. It will be dark when you walk from here to the beach."
"You little guy," the old man shook his head, took out the key and handed it to Simon, but deliberately said in a very philistine tone: "Don't forget to come on."
Los Angeles has many well-known beaches with a long coastline, and the most popular one is undoubtedly Venice Beach, which is adjacent to Santa Monica Beach.
Venice Beach is even more lively in the summer.
In addition to countless tourists from all over the world, the pedestrian streets of Venice Beach also gather a variety of street performers, artists, painters, cyclists, roller skating enthusiasts and other groups, making the entire beach like a lively carnival.
Simon arrived at Venice Beach after driving for more than ten minutes. He paid two dollars to park his car in the paid parking lot, and then set foot on the famous pedestrian street on the beach with his guitar on his back.
After a while, Simon stopped at an intersection on the street with a fairly good flow of people.
Putting the piano case at his feet, holding the guitar and re-confirming its feel, Simon randomly picked a song "Rocket-man" by Elton John from his memory and started playing and singing.
With the mentality of being a man for two generations, Simon did not feel any embarrassment about singing on the street. He felt that it would be even more embarrassing for a grown man to be unable to support himself.
The superb guitar skills that were suddenly inspired suddenly attracted the attention of passers-by. Although Simon, who is used to being focused, seldom interacts with the people around him, there are always tourists in twos and threes surrounding him, listening to the song for a while, putting down some change, and then leaving.
The setting sun began to fall toward the sea level unknowingly, and the orange-red light projected from Simon's back, dragging his shadow longer and longer.
From four o'clock to now, it has been nearly three hours, and Simon doesn't feel very tired.
Glancing at the piano case covered with a thick layer of coins at his feet, Simon felt that maybe he didn't need to find a second part-time job, so that he could use his time on other things.
With this thought in mind, I was about to finish singing the last song and call it a day, when a hand stretched out from the side above the piano case.
A very beautiful hand, slender and long, painted with fiery red nail polish.
Apparently a woman's hand.
These thoughts flashed through Simon's mind, but in his lowered eyes, he noticed that the beautiful woman's hand seemed not to put money into the piano case, but instead reached for the only 10-dollar bill in it.
This is too much.
So Simon raised his right foot and stepped lightly on the hand that wanted to do evil.
The owner of the hand didn't seem to anticipate Simon's movements, nor did Simon expect that hand not to dodge. So, it wasn't until Simon's right foot came down that a somewhat exaggerated female voice came from beside him.
"Oh, little boy, how can you step on others? It's so abominable!"
Simon reluctantly held down the strings, retracted his feet, and turned to look to the side.
Janet Johnston, who was squatting next to the piano case, was staring at her with an accusing look on her face, showing no consciousness of being caught as a thief.
Katherine Bigelow stood next to her friend with a helpless expression and smiled apologetically at Simon.
Simon ignored the crazy woman who was still squatting on the ground and looked at Catherine happily. He called Katherine once after meeting with Jonathan Friedman last week, but no one answered and he had to leave a message.
I didn't expect to meet him unexpectedly at this time.
Catherine was still wearing a simple shirt and trousers today, looking very smart.
Simon looked the woman up and down and said, "What a coincidence, Catherine, why are you here?"
Although there was no aggression in the eyes of the boy in front of her, Catherine still felt a little unnatural. She dodged Simon's gaze slightly and said softly: "Jenny's studio is over here. I am attending a production meeting in Beverly this afternoon. , come and go back to Malibu with Jenny.β
Simon nodded and said, "So, is it "Night of the Blood Corpse"? How are the preparations going?"
"The casting is about to end. However, the production company has some financial problems, so the filming may be delayed a few months," Catherine said, and then added: "I saw your message. Also, Fu Mr. Reedman also called me. He thinks very highly of you, but he is very surprised by your age."
Simon smiled, glanced at his watch, and said to Catherine: "I haven't thanked you properly for this matter. Now that we have met, can I treat you to a meal?"
Being ignored by Simon, Janet felt a little inexplicable in her heart. When she heard what he said, the woman immediately pointed to the change in Simon's piano box and said in a joking tone: "Little boy, you don't want to use these." Can you pay us to have dinner?"