From playground to prostitute, by Jaco Hough-Coetzee and Elanie Kruger

From playground to prostitute, by Jaco Hough-Coetzee and Elanie Kruger. Jonathan Ball Publishers SA. Cape Town; Johannesburg; South Africa, 2015. ISBN 9781928248019 / ISBN 978-1-928248-01-9

In the second part of Jaco Hough-Coetzee's and Elanie Kruger's book From playground to prostitute Elanie shares with the reader her awful experiences. She relates how she learned to cope with her feelings of despair, loneliness, pain and humiliation.

Elanie Kruger  

The peak-hour traffic exiting the city centre cruises slowly from traffic light to traffic light. It's raining softly. Pieter and Engela are driving in the opposite direction down Church Street, from Oranjesig towards town. 'It's Friday, 15 October 1993, and the weekend has arrived!' chatters Jaco de Wet on the car radio. 'The weather service predicts a gloomy and wet weekend for Bloemfontein, but the sounds of Radio Oranje will keep things cosy. So, let's get going with Billy Joel's latest hit single, "The River of Dreams". Engela hums along to the song. She is in a happy mood because she's on her way to her first job. Every now and then, Pieter's eyes wander over the sixteen-year-old passenger next to him. She's bloody attractive, he thinks. She's wearing tight jeans that accentuate her long legs. The curves under her red blouse confirm her transition from teenager to young woman. Engela looks at him and smiles. He smiles rigidly, quickly shifts his eyes back to the road and changes to third gear. Inside him two voices are arguing: No, Pieter, it's wrong what you're doing, says one. She's a human being. To hell with that, the second voice invades his thoughts. She has done it, after all. Her brother told him. She knows all too well how to do it. Again, the first voice: No, Pieter. No! Pieter suddenly hesitates. He slows the vehicle down and steers into the left lane. Do you have a choice, Pieter? Another solution? No, Pieter, you don't. Do it and be done! What's wrong?' Engela wants to know. 'Nothing. Just careful because of the rain.' Six months ago Pieter discovered, through a classified advertisement in Volksblad, the Lady Femme club in Bloemfontein's city centre, on the corner of Oos Burger and Charles streets. The entrance fee was steep, a full R100, but so what, he thought. It was his twenty-fourth birthday; he was alone and didn't want to be. Why not splash out a little? It's only once a year, he convinced himself. That evening Pieter found himself sitting at the bar counter, sipping on a brandy and Coke, and staring at the enticing goods delightfully on display under the girls' tight, skimpy garments. A girl with big blue eyes sat down next to him. Jacky, she introduced herself and crossed her legs in his direction. He offers a hand. 'Pieter. Pleased to meet you.' 'First time, right? I always remember a handsome face when I see one,' she says and caresses his cheek. Jacky is a few years older than him. Pieter feels the excitement stirring between his legs - no one has ever called him handsome. 'Well, yes. My first time. I am kind of busy with my ... my business ventures,' he apologises half-heartedly. 'Can hardly find the time to go out.' 'Really?' she asks playfully. 'So, if I may ask, Pete, what do you do that keeps you so busy?' Pieter takes two quick gulps from his brandy and Coke. Now you have to think carefully, Pieter, flashes through his brain. Now you have to think very carefully! Admitting you're a mechanic won't cut it in this place. He glances at the other men; they all seem to be high-profile guys. Some in suits, others in expensive designer clothes. Pieter is relieved he's wearing his best outfit for a night on the town, yet his denims and T-shirt are no match. 'Imports,' he says, unnecessarily loudly. [...]

This is an excerpt from From playground to prostitute, by Jaco Hough-Coetzee and Elanie Kruger.

Title: From playground to prostitute
Authors: Jaco Hough-Coetzee; Elanie Kruger
Publisher: Jonathan Ball Publishers SA
Cape Town; Johannesburg; South Africa, 2015
ISBN 9781928248019 / ISBN 978-1-928248-01-9
Softcover, 15 x 24 cm, 215 pages