Chapter 12: A Great Opportunity

As the sun set, Link walked along the evening streets, gazing at the dazzling neon lights in front of the bars and dance halls. The palm trees swayed gently in the night breeze, their crowns silhouetted against the darkening sky. Somehow, the night felt different from before—more pleasing to the eye, more enjoyable.

Earlier, after being stopped by Jerome Preston at the movie theater, the two had dinner at a restaurant in the shopping mall and ended up discussing the film’s distribution.

Jerome Preston said that within his authority, he could arrange for Buried Alive to be screened in two theaters, with at least five showings per day.

He also offered to reach out to other theater managers to try to secure more screens and additional showtimes for the film. He told Link to wait for further news.

If all went well, Buried Alive had a chance of being released soon.

But this wasn’t a dream. Things were often harder than expected, and until the box office numbers came in, every step had to be handled with care.

"Hey, Link, where have you been?"

When Link returned to the youth apartments on Bird Street, a group of young people was throwing a party on the lawn in front of Building 10.

Loud music was blasting, beer and soda were stacked in cases on the ground, and several scantily dressed men and women danced in the crowd. Every time someone made a provocative move, the partygoers would erupt into shouts and cheers.

Chris Bauer, shirtless and showing off his muscular upper body, was dancing in the middle of the crowd. When he spotted Link walking by, he stopped and greeted him.

"I went to see a movie—just got back from the theater," Link replied.

"By yourself, or were you with that blonde chick?"

Eric, who had tattooed arms and a girl in a revealing outfit draped over him, smirked as he asked.

"What blonde chick?"

"Wait, Link has a girlfriend? How come I didn’t know about this?" Chris Bauer and the others looked at each other in surprise.

"Haha, you guys didn’t see it? A few days ago, Link brought a blonde woman back for the night. She was dressed in a women’s suit—very well put together, looked like a professional working in a serious company. Probably in her thirties. Gotta say, Link, you’ve got unique taste."

Eric laughed, his tattooed arm wrapped around his girl.

"Whoa, Link, you’re dating a woman in her thirties?"

"Link, so that’s why you turned down Lilian and Jennifer—you like older women!"

"Link, respect!"

The group started teasing him loudly.

"Hey, guys, your dancing is great—why not keep going? Hope I didn’t interrupt the fun."

Link raised a bottle of beer as he spoke.

"Come on, Link! You’re not some lone wolf in L.A.—you can’t always stay out of the group."

Chris Bauer nudged Link’s shoulder, urging him to join in.

With no other choice, Link danced along to the music for a while.

The lively atmosphere, combined with the warm Los Angeles weather, had him sweating within five minutes.

"Link, a really hot chick just moved into Building 13 today. She looks older than us, too. If you’re into older women, you should totally go after her," Chris Bauer said, grinning and winking.

"Yeah, not just older—she’s got these and this too!"

Eric gestured at his chest and backside, waggling his eyebrows in a crude manner.

"Forget it, guys. That woman might be beautiful, but she’s extremely stuck-up. She walks around with her chin up, ignores people when they say hi—there’s no way someone like us could land her," someone else chimed in.

"Whatever, I’ve got too much going on already. No time to chase girls. You guys have fun—I’m heading back to shower."

Link downed his bottle of Bud Light, then hummed along to Michael Jackson’s latest single, Dangerous, as he walked toward Building 13.

As he climbed the stairs to the third floor, he caught a whiff of an alluring perfume—a blend of roses and citrus, strong yet refreshing. No doubt, it belonged to a woman.

At the top of the stairs, he spotted a woman walking ahead of him. Her back was to him, revealing a tall, curvy figure in a sleeveless dress. She had a slim waist and wide, round hips.

She was carrying a Costco shopping bag, her arm muscles flexing as she climbed the stairs. The motion made her hips sway even more.

In the dim lighting of the stairwell, her silhouette was undeniably captivating.

When she reached the third floor, she turned toward the right-side apartments. The crisp sound of her mid-heeled shoes tapping against the floor added a cinematic feel to the moment.

Link chuckled to himself before heading up to his small apartment on the fourth floor.

After taking a hot shower and changing into loose pajamas, he did a three-minute plank on the floor before lying in bed, reflecting on the day’s events. Eventually, he drifted off to sleep.

 "Welcome!"

"Can I get a lemon soda and a grilled chicken and vegetable burger?"

"Of course, Ms. Moore. Please wait a moment."

The next morning, Link retrieved a chicken burger from the kitchen and poured a cup of lemon soda before handing them to the customer.

As she left, Chris Bauer nudged Link’s arm and pointed excitedly at her retreating figure.

"Link, that was Julianne Moore, wasn’t it? I can’t believe she actually came to buy a burger herself!"

"She’s just a person like anyone else. Buying food isn’t a big deal."

Link shrugged and wiped down the counter with a cloth.

The woman who had just left was indeed the famous actress Julianne Moore. She had played the third female lead—the protagonist’s best friend—in the hit thriller The Hand That Rocks the Cradle.

Thanks to her impressive acting skills and striking looks, Julianne Moore had gained some recognition in Hollywood, establishing herself as a known actress.

But in Los Angeles, running into celebrities wasn’t unusual—especially those who hadn’t yet made it big.

Over the past few months, Link had encountered plenty of them while working on film sets. It had long since stopped being surprising.

"I heard that Julianne Moore used to be a waitress and struggled in the entertainment industry for seven or eight years before finally becoming famous this year. If only I could be like her,"

Chris Bauer said.

"That's impossible. Julianne Moore is beautiful and talented. How can you compare yourself to her?"

Another waiter, Michael, replied.

"Why not? I have muscles. Do you?"

Chris Bauer flexed his biceps.

"I'm taller than you!"

"Damn it, don’t compare height with me."

As the two of them messed around, Link finished seeing off a customer. He heard a few beeps from the pager in his pocket, took it out, and checked the number—it was from Jerome Preston.

After telling Chris Bauer, Link stepped out onto the street and made a call from a public phone booth.

Jerome Preston told Link that he had found an art-house cinema willing to screen his movie. The theater, located in Burbank, had ten screening rooms dedicated to independent low-budget films.

Recently, the theater had undergone interior renovations, finishing a few days ahead of schedule, leaving an open slot of about a week with no scheduled screenings.

The theater manager agreed to screen Buried Alive, but to avoid losses, Link would need to pay a $30,000 deposit.

"Link, thirty grand shouldn’t be a problem, right? As long as the box office numbers are good, they’ll refund your deposit after the screening. Sounds like good news, doesn’t it?"

Jerome Preston laughed.

"Jerome, I don’t have any money. Not even a hundred dollars."

"You’re not joking, right? You managed to make a 90-minute movie but don’t even have $30,000?"

"I spent all my savings on this film."

"Damn, you're something else! Alright, if you don’t have the deposit, we’ll have to drop it. The mall theater can give your film two screening rooms, showing about 16 times over three days.

The Pershing Square AMC and the USC campus AMC can also arrange three screens, with a total of twenty showings.

But the showtimes will be scattered, and tracking the box office numbers will be difficult. I’m telling you this upfront to avoid any disputes later."

Jerome Preston explained.

Link had already thought of this. He wasn’t a distribution company and didn’t have a dedicated statistician. Even if the movie screened in three different theaters, he wouldn’t be able to accurately and promptly track the box office figures.

Without reliable statistics, it would be hard to attract the attention of distributors and theater chains.

"Jerome, when exactly is that theater’s open slot?"

"From the 15th to the 22nd!"

It was the 10th now—only five days away from the 15th.

How could he possibly make $30,000 in five days?

But this was a great opportunity. Missing it would be a shame.

"Jerome, give me five days. If I can’t make $30,000 in time, we’ll go with the original plan and screen it sporadically for three days."

"OK, I’ll wait for your good news."

Link hung up the phone and pinched the bridge of his nose. He had thought the screening for Buried Alive was already secured, but now things were back up in the air.

Trying to make things happen when you’re broke is really tough.

(End of Chapter)