Hunting in Hollywood

Simon was unaware of the girl silently watching him from the crowd. When Janet made her sarcastic remark about the mental hospital, he simply laughed and replied, "Why, are you planning to stay there for a while?"

Janet nodded earnestly, "Yeah, if it makes me like you, I might even stay a few years."

Catherine was taken aback by Janet's comment and the sudden interest it sparked in Simon's past. However, hearing Janet's response, Catherine sternly glared at her friend, "Janet, stop joking about that."

Janet felt the seriousness in Catherine's tone and immediately recoiled, linking arms with her in a conciliatory gesture, and chose not to continue the topic.

Simon, catching his breath after his intense guitar performance, noticed Janet's gesture and smiled, handing his guitar to Catherine, "Could you hold this for me?"

As Catherine took the guitar, somewhat puzzled, Simon knelt to gather the money from the guitar case.

Catherine, feeling the weight of the guitar, stood watching. Janet, eyeing the guitar, reached out to touch it but was stopped by Catherine's glare. She instead knelt down beside Simon to help sort the coins, mockingly picking up a nickel and commenting on someone's stinginess.

Soon, all the money was neatly arranged. Even without counting Janet's recent hundred-dollar bill, there was over $260 in the case, far more than Simon had expected.

With Janet holding a small pile of coins, Simon stuffed the bills into his jeans and took the guitar back from Catherine to carefully pack it away. He slung it over his shoulder and looked at the women, "So, shall we go for dinner?"

"Sure," Catherine replied without hesitation this time, smiling and suggesting, "There's a good Mexican restaurant nearby."

"Is it a walkable distance?"

"Absolutely, just to the north."

"Oh, how are you getting back later?"

"My car is in that parking lot over there."

"What a coincidence, mine too. Though it's the motel owner's car, he's a good man."

"The guitar is borrowed too?"

"Yeah."

Janet stood still, watching the man and woman about to walk away together, then looked down at the coins still in her hands. What was happening?

Was she being forgotten?

With sudden anger, Janet shouted across the street, "Simon Westeros, if you take one more step, I'll throw all this away!"

Many heads turned towards them.

Simon and Catherine looked back at the fuming Janet, and Simon hurried back, apologizing, "Sorry, Janet. Here, let me take that."

Janet dumped the coins into Simon's hands and shot Catherine a resentful look.

Both slightly embarrassed, Catherine approached and linked arms with Janet, and together with Simon, they headed north.

Noticing Janet deliberately positioning herself between him and Catherine, Simon made conversation, "So, Catherine, you mentioned Janet has a studio here. What kind?"

"It's an art studio," Catherine responded. "Janet is a painter. Maybe you can buy her paintings when you're rich."

"Oh, definitely."

"I won't sell to you, you little rascal."

"I'll pay a high price."

"No sale!"

"Double the price."

"Ugh!"

Catherine chuckled, seeing her friend glare at her again, she quickly added, "Janet's quite impressive too. She graduated from Columbia Business School, you know. Ever heard of Warren Buffett? He went there too."

Simon nodded, "Of course."

"One year, Buffett came back to Columbia to speak, and Janet debated with him in the auditorium. If it weren't for the dean stepping in, she almost made him lose face."

"Really impressive," Simon said with a smile, then asked, "So why did she become a painter?"

Catherine glanced at her friend and simply smiled without explaining further.

Janet, realizing Simon was curious, bluntly rolled her eyes at him.

As they casually chatted, the trio arrived at a nearby Mexican restaurant. Despite having several hundred dollars in his pocket, both women modestly ordered a $25 meal. However, Simon, accommodating Janet's 'wish,' used her hundred-dollar bill to order a decent bottle of wine.

After dinner, Simon gave Catherine the contact information for the motel and parted ways with the two women.

With over a hundred dollars still in hand, Simon felt financially secure enough to last until his next paycheck from the supermarket, dismissing any thoughts of seeking further part-time work.

Having settled his financial troubles, Simon was now fully acclimatized to life in Los Angeles.

Life tends to fly by when it falls into a routine.

In the blink of an eye, it was already Simon's third week in Los Angeles, with July just beginning.

Aside from work, Simon maintained a routine of calling Jonathan Friedman twice a week. The agent didn't hide his intention to turn "The Butterfly Effect" into a package deal.

On the previous Wednesday

, at Friedman's invitation, Simon had gone to the WMA headquarters to meet with the selected director, Brian De Palma, for over half an hour.

Known for "Carrie" in the '70s, Simon was aware that De Palma was also the director of Tom Cruise's first "Mission: Impossible," making him one of Hollywood's perennial top directors.

Thus, while De Palma's involvement might overshadow the script to some extent, Simon appreciated the boost his participation would give the project.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly.

However, a recent call from his agent revealed a complication. Initially, Friedman had planned to use only his clients for the film, but after "The Butterfly Effect" script circulated within WMA, other executives also showed interest in the project.

Friedman hadn't elaborated much, leaving Simon unclear about the details but aware that he needed to be patient. As a newcomer, he couldn't influence WMA's internal politics and had to wait quietly.

After navigating the first week's financial hurdles, Simon kept his job at Griffin's Supermarket and began pursuing other personal projects.

It was another typical Thursday afternoon, but with the 4th of July and a long weekend ahead, the supermarket was bustling.

"So, how's today?" Simon greeted Courtney Cox as she approached the checkout with a pile of snacks.

Having discovered that Courtney lived nearby and frequently shopped at Griffin's, they had struck up a casual friendship. Each visit, she made a point to chat with Simon, and they had quickly become familiar.

However, Courtney was clearly in a bad mood today.

Upon hearing Simon's greeting, she responded tersely, "I just got a notification that I didn't get a part I auditioned for. What do you think?"

Simon smiled, "No need to be so down. With your qualifications, there will be plenty more opportunities. Speaking of which, I'm preparing an experimental film. Why don't you come and be the lead actress?"

"Experimental film?" Courtney eyed Simon's supermarket uniform skeptically, "Never mind whether you can direct a film, first off, do you even have the money?"

"When Joe sells my script, I probably will," Simon replied as he bagged her snacks, "That'll be $19.75."

Courtney handed over two ten-dollar bills, her tone still sharp, "You've been here for weeks with no news. By the time Joe sells your script, I might already be a big star like Michelle Pfeiffer, and you wouldn't be able to afford even a fraction of my fee."

Simon gave her the change, "Michelle Pfeiffer isn't that expensive, right? But indeed, she's a very tasteful woman. Maybe I could ask her out someday."

Courtney weighed the coins in her hand, giving Simon a dry look, "Dream on, but at least you got the change right."

With a few stinging remarks, Courtney seemed to cheer up a bit. She said goodbye graciously before leaving with her shopping bag.

Simon threw the receipt in the trash and was about to take a break when Roger Griffin, the ever-present supermarket owner, leaned over the cash register, "Hey, kid, using a film project as a pickup line is pretty lame. If I were you, I'd have asked her out directly long ago."

Simon didn't bite on the middle-aged man's taunt and instead asked, "Roger, would you let me shoot some scenes in your store?"

"Sure," Griffin replied briskly, "as long as you pay."

"I wouldn't expect anything for free," Simon grinned, "But just so you know, it's a robbery scene."

Griffin eyed Simon seriously, quickly agreeing, "Fine, but you'll need to change the store's sign temporarily, and make sure the camera doesn't show too much detail about the location."

Simon hadn't expected such an easy agreement, remembering how a movie he knew took weeks to convince a supermarket to allow shooting a robbery scene.

"Deal," Simon affirmed, shaking hands with Griffin, "and remember to reserve a role for me when you do shoot."

"Absolutely," Simon assured, without hesitation.

After their chat, Griffin strolled away, and Simon wrapped up his shift. Carrying his light grey canvas backpack, he left work, fully settled into his new life in Los Angeles.