A\N: The wonderful fan novel Batman: The Ultimate Evil by Andrew Vachss has Batman confronting the evil of children being sold for sex in Asia. I've decided to write this story to showcase the evil of children being sold for sex right here in the U.S. I don't really have that many qualifications to write about this topic except that I'm passionate about it. If anyone who has more experience with these matters (sex worker or former sex worker, law enforcement official, activist, ect) wants to offer suggestions or corrections, I would really appreciate it.
Also, my main character is Latina. I'm not. I love the Spanish language and have studied it for many years, but I'm not perfect. There are idioms and such I'm not familiar with. Native Spanish speakers are welcome to offer corrections as well as comments\criticisms about the portrayal of Latino\Latina characters. In the meanwhile, I'll do my best, and the English translations will be in brackets.
I hope we can learn together.
She can smell him on the other side of the room. He reeks of cigarette smoke and body odor. Luci lies perfectly still and tries to breathe only through her mouth, as the john unbuckles his belt. Relejate,chica she tells herself. Relejate. [Relax girl, relax] She's learned by now that tensing the muscles in her stomach and between her legs only makes it hurt worse.
She closes her eyes as his pants drop to the floor. Maybe he'll be quick. Maybe there won't be a lot of them tonight.
As her "customer" plugs away in the dark, Luci conjures up visions of her bedroom in foster care. She remembers the blue carpet and the map of the U.S. that hung on the wall. She silently repeats the names of all the cities she used to dream about visiting. Chicago. Philadelphia. Boston. Hartford. Papi told me I could see the whole country if I went with him. Guess it's true that you gotta be careful what you wish for.
Her bitter chuckle coincides with her client's groan as he comes.
She breathes a sigh of relief when the man leaves. His smell still lingers in the room. On the sheets. On her skin. She opens her eyes. Through the cracked door, she sees Papi counting the money. Two hundred dollars.
A shadow looms in front of the door.
"Ella es una buena [she's a good one]," Papi says with a chuckle.
Luci closes her eyes again. Time for the next round.
Customer #1 did it in the dark. Number 2 wants the lights on. So she can see everything: from the eyes that rake over her like she's the main course at an all-you-can-eat buffet to the large bulge in his sweatpants. He licks his lips, and she glimpses scummy, yellow teeth.
"Chapuda [blowjob]," he demands, pointing to his erection.
Luci climbs off the bed and gets on her knees. At least this part doesn't hurt. And Papi's right. She has gotten pretty good at this.
Maybe if I treat him right, he'll leave a little somethin' extra.
She pictures the map again as she pulls down the john's sweatpants and begins to work. Providence. Trenton. Gotham.