Chapter 6 - spies

I went about my usual business once again.
One evening a chap came up to talk to me. He was not trying to chat me up or anything. He recognised me as being simon's girlfreind. He said he knew Simon. He said he had gone to school with him. They had been good freinds at one stage, but they were not so close now. His name was Trevor. We got talking and had a good chat. The reason they were not so close now was because Trevor had moved away. He lived only a mile away from the centre of town. He was at the university doing a music degree.
He told me Simon had two timed a girl at home to go out with me. She had found out and finished him.
Then he'd met me again and two timed me to go out with a new girl. Apparently Simon had told Trevor to look out for me to tell me because he didn't want to tell me himself!
I knew something strange had been going on! I was not upset, because I knew he couldn't be trusted. I was annoyed because he should have had the courage to tell me himself. That was twice he had avoided conflict by going into hiding!
I became good freinds with Trevor. I visited his flat several times and he visited me. There was no romance between the two of us, just good freinds, only he happened to be male.

I knew Simon would be at the concert he'd bought tickets for. I quite liked the band now and I decided to go. However, part of me only wanted to go because I was curious. I wanted to know what his new girlfreind looked like. I wanted to know how he would react to me being there.
Sure enough, he was there, outside the city hall, standing on the steps, being a ticket tout! So his new business was not working so well was it? He even stopped me and asked me if I wanted a ticket. He was standing next to HER! She had long ginger hair and didn't look anything special!
I simply just glared at him and went inside.
I could not enjoy the support band. I could not help thinking about how the idiot outside had treated me.And I'd fallen for it! I'd gone back a second time! I was just as stupid as him!
I went down to the bar downstairs. I wanted to get very drunk!
While I was down there, I met another bloke I knew. He was a flatmate of another ex-boyfriend and he was currently going out with a work colleague. I didnt expect to see John out at a gig like this. He was a roadie for a thrash metal band. His music was usually faster, darker and louder than this pop/rock. He confessed he did not know what he was doing there either. That was why he was in the bar. John was very down to earth. He was certainly not a glamorous rocker like Simon was. His clothes were always dark and well worn in. Sometimes they had holes or rips in them. Then he'd surprise you by wearing a pair of red tee bar sandals that went with nothing else! He claimed he got those and items like them on tour. Someone would go out and just buy bargain basement stuff for them. They lived in the back of trucks, tour buses and only occasionally saw a hotel bed. They grabbed what they could when they could. They wore tour merchandise not because they wanted to, but because it was the most convenient thing to wear!
I liked John. He was what Helen called 'a lovable rogue'. They had been together for over a year, which was impressive by my standards, but I knew they had suffered some big bust ups in that time.
I would have liked to go out with him, but I knew he was someone else's property, therefore I would leave well alone, but there was nothing wrong with talking to him.
Actually, it worked out quite well.
I didn't enjoy the concert because it reminded me too much of Simon, so I left early.
John left early because it was not his scene. We had not planned to meet up. We'd been sitting in different parts of the concert hall, but we caught up with each other outside and he asked me to go to the pub with him.
We were already settled standing at the bar with our drinks when Simon came in with his ginger bitch! He noticed me immediately. Maybe he saw me talking to John and assumed I had found someone new too!
With Simon our of earshot, but within clear sight, I made sure John flirted with me for a few minutes, just to make him jealous!

Trevor said Simon had been jealous! He didn't know John, but he'd thought I was a quick worker!
Aha! I'd let him stew. He'd be even more jealous if he found out John was a proper roadie who had toured the world and not just someone who'd got a back stage invite to one European gig!

Trevor kept me informed of what Simon was up to. He got a grant from the prince's trust to establish his new business. However, he was all blether!
He managed to get one local band on his books for him to promote. He went down to London and persuaded a large rock magazine to do a review of their demo, which got them a minor record deal. But the record flopped and the band were never heard of again.
A year later, the accountants wanted to look at simon's Books to see what he'd done with his grant. He'd gone into a panic! He had no books. He didn't know how to do it! His parents had to pay for an accountant to 'cook' some books up for him to survive the inspection.

Trevor didn't hear from Simon much after that. He had his own study and his own exams to contend with. He couldn't be bothered with gossip.

However, I worked with a variety of people at work. One of them was an older woman in her fifties, who had a son, called Gary, who had just started at university. He was doing a degree in music production and he happened to mention one character to her on the same course who sounded very familiar! It was indeed Simon!
He had moved north and moved in with his girlfreind. Ginger she was.
Gary said Simon was not doing very well in the course. He kept failing modules and having to redo them. That might have something to do with him not turning up to most of his lectures.
I can't say I was disappointed!