Jennifer wondered what miracle job Nat would suggest. "Well, it just so happens to be the oldest profession in human history,however it now pays hundreds of dollars a day with the right clientele," Nat continued. Suddenly the light bulb went on in Jennifer's head and she realized that Nat was talking about prostitution. Jennifer sat there as Nat told her about how she got started in the business when her parents died and she had no money to support herself with. "It's really not at all what the movies portray it to be," Nat said. Jennifer left the auto shop in a taxi later that night after telling Brock she could get home on her own.
This is crazy, Jennifer thought. She couldn't believe that being a prostitute even crossed her mind while driving home. Of course not, she told herself. But then, how was she going to get this money. There was that number that Nat had given her, she remembered. "Call this number if you change your mind, even if you don't want to turn tricks, he'll find something for you," Nat had told her. Well, Jennifer was not at the bottom of the barrel yet. She knew what she would do. Tommorrow, she would stop by work and ask the manager for some help, surely a salary advance or more hours could help solve the problem.
The next day, Jennifer pulled into the Kroger parking lot. "Hey Ray, can I talk to you for a minute," Jennifer said to the Kroger manager. "Sure," Ray responded "Come on into my office." Jennifer told him about all of her financial problems. "Look, Jennifer, I'm really sorry about this, but there's no way I can give you an advance, it's store policy. Plus, with you being so new, I can't give you a raise or more hours without the rest of the staff crawling down my throat. Maybe you should look for another job to work in addition to this one."
Jennifer went home depressed and tried to brainstorm about her other options. Yes, she could take out a loan, but she had no desire to. Her mother had been in debt a large part of their lives due to her father's gambling habit. She knew what it was like to always have someone looking over her shoulder and she refused to feel that way again. After attempting and failing several times to fall asleep, Jennifer decided to call the number Nat had given her. After all, calling didn't mean she was making a committment, she was merely checking out all of her options.
After a few rings, a deep male voice answered "Fred Flats, here". "Hi, my name is Jennifer. I got your number from a lady named Nat yesterday, she said you could help me find a job." "Sure," Fred responded "What are you interested in?" Jennifer proceeded to tell him how much money she needed to make ends meet and fix her car. She also informed him that there was no way she'd be interested in prostitution. "Oh, that's no problem," Fred responded "Most college girls we get work in the entertainment industry, actually." "What do you mean by entertainment?" Jennifer asked. "Oh, nothing illegal, don't worry. Mainly, dancing for crowds," Fred immediately replied. "You mean stripping." "Jennifer, it is much more tasteful than that I assure you. Our girls only work a couple of nights a week and make up to 1500 or 2000 dollars a night." "A night!" Jennifer exclaimed, shocked "just for dancing." "Well, they're very good dancers, but I promise you, they don't have to do anything else, why don't you just come by the club tommorrow night and you can see what the girls do and then audition if you want to." Jennifer got the directions to the club and hung up. What had she gotten herself into now?
The next day in class, Jennifer saw Tempest and sat by her. Jennifer noticed that Tempest was upset and asked her what was wrong. Tempest began to tell her about her last boyfriend in high school that was really abusive to her and how she felt that relationship had permanently damaged her self-esteem. After Tempest had confided in her, Jennifer felt comfortable enough to tell Tempest about her own problems. Jennifer was so surprised that Tempest wasn't shocked about the whole exotic dancer job. Then Jennifer surprised herself by asking Tempest to go with her to the club tonight, so she wouldn't have to go alone. Tempest accepted and Jennifer took a deep breath in an attempt to relieve some of the anxiety that was stirring in her stomach.
That night, Jennifer walked in the dimly-lit club with Tempest at her side. "Oh my God, I am so nervous," Jennifer told her. "Don't worry about it, you haven't agreed to anything yet," Tempest told her. Jennifer saw a girl on center stage in a maid costume swinging around a pole in a position she knew she couldn't imitate on her best day. As pieces of the costume came off, the girl continued to dance around the borders of the stage, and man after man placed money in her g-string. Jennifer went to find Fred Flats and ask him about the job. After telling her about all the money she could make dancing, Fred gave her a catholic school uniform costume and told her to try it out, if she did well, he would hire her. She would have to pay the club $50 every night she worked, and she would be able to keep her tips. Jennifer snatched the costume from Fred, determined to be brave. She told herself, it's just modern dance, sort of like the lessons I took at the community center. She heard the music come on and she took her place on the stage. The spotlight shone on her and for a second, Jennifer froze. She heard Fred's voice saying "Boys, we have a new talent for you tonight, give a warm welcome to Elektra." Oh great, she thought, I even have an alias now, all criminals have aliases. This was something she had to do, Jennifer reminded herself, she was out of options. "Just don't look at the people, pretend you're someone else," Tempest had told her. She began to dance around the stage, and before she knew it men were surrounding the stage, waving bills at her to come get. Jennifer was shocked. This wasn't really that bad, it was just like dancing at a party in her bikini, well except for the money part, and the slimy hands of grimy men, and the leering stares of the crowd, mentally engaging in all sorts of activities. But it wasn't like she was sleeping with any of them. Before she knew it, the song was over and she retreated backstage. "That was incredible!" both Tempest and Fred exclaimed. A few minutes later, Jennifer counted her tips to amount to a grand total of $500. This was certainly not part of her original plan, but neither was the car engine exploding. She shoved any sub-conscience feelings to the back of her brain and told Fred she'd take the job.