Gathered outside of Charlotte's theater, we were observing her lining up the letters for Zombie Walk on her marquee. She'd be arranging the announcements for the events held during the day, where to get food, and times for start and end. The finale of her zombie movie festival was also on the board, which was the movie Train to Busan. As I stared at those words on the other side of the marquee, the only one standing there alone and blocking the light from my eyes with my palm, I thought about how the movie was in Korean.

Gyeong-Wan.

He'd cried in my arms last night, telling me a secret. One that he was so ashamed of. All I could do was try to comfort him, trying to grasp what he'd just said. He said he'd never told anyone before. Not even his mom? Or a school friend? No one? I was the first? What was so special about me that I was the first?

I'd cried, too, wondering why I was so special. That he'd tell me this, no one else. He trusted me that much? I'd never tell a soul. I'd keep this secret forever if he wanted me to. He'd cried for so long. It was obvious to me that he'd known this about himself for a long time, and felt like he had nobody. As I held him, I wanted to know why he felt like he had nobody. What was really going on inside of himself? I wanted to know.

But, he hadn't talked about it further when we'd had hot chocolates afterwards. We'd talked about normal things, and he seemed to be better. Still weaker, because he was recovering from his crying, but he was okay. I was glad he was okay, that I could make him feel that way. In the end, we'd gone into my kitchen he'd watched me prepare some double chocolate cookies for him. A comfort food. I'd sent him home with them wrapped in a couple of piping bags. I had nothing else portable that was big enough. Only afterward did I remember that I had plastic wrap as well, but it proved to me how worried I was. That I'd forget this simple thing.

What was he doing now? It was well into the afternoon. I knew from observation that he got off work mid-afternoon. If he went to French Cup now, he'd only find Yash. I looked toward the hotel, wondering. Would I be able to see him from here if he was leaving?

"The sound system will snake in through your doors like usual," Nikki was saying, walking toward the double doors of the theater. "I worry, though, because it's going to be freezing. Is your theater going to be able to take that? For the doors to be open a gap?"

Charlotte shrugged. It made me raise my eyebrow. It wasn't her usual response. Usually, she was very enthusiastic for Zombie Walk. But, our conversation last week... Sadness mixed in with my worry about Gyeong-Wan. Had she told nobody else?

"Hmm, I wonder if we should decorate?" Hanako went over to the wall, caressing it like a lover. "Blood spatters? Maybe some kind of peelable gel? Is that too much?" She wasn't even looking at us, more in her own world, most likely envisioning it all dressed up.

"You can do whatever you want," Charlotte shrugged again. She lifted more letters up from the bag at her waist, stretching to apply them on the marquee.

"Okay, yeah," Hanako said, his fingers at his mouth. He pointed around the wall, envisioning it. "I'll go to a craft store and get some things. I won't harm the wall, but I think it would look..." He trailed off, thinking only to himself.

"Sure, if you want to." It was as if Charlotte wasn't paying attention to us.

I was about to say something, but Nikki was quicker. At her responses, his hands had gone onto his hips. He was much closer to her that any of us, being so tall.

"WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?!" He barked.

Charlotte practically tumbled off the ladder, wobbling hugely. My hands went up, ready to catch her, but she was stable enough to regain balance.

"What'd you do that for?!" She yelled back at him.

"You're being weird!"

"Well, you're always weird!" Charlotte spat at him like a cat. She grabbed more letters from her bag, applying them quicker, her lips in her mouth in her anger.

"I'm a drag queen! Of course I'm weird! But you're just a regular girl!"

Charlotte paused, her lips tightening, but I saw it. She was trying not to laugh. "God, just go away, shit." She held onto the marquee, gasping for breath.

"Is it your ex-girlfriend?" He tilted his head, smiling sneakily. My hand went over my mouth at this mention.

"Fuck you, wow," Charlotte laughed. "We broke up five years ago. It is not about her."

"Then what is it about? I'm going to sing until you tell me." His mouth opened further, about to really do it.

"I'll sing with you!" Hanako gasped, turning around from his plan with the wall finally, absolutely beaming and enthusiastic about his favorite thing.

"We'll all sing!" Nikki called to her, grinning. He nodded at me, and I nodded back.

"Oh god, not Kazu. You sound like a dying fish."

Even though I wasn't feeling anything like joking, I had to do it for my dear friend. Nikki was right. She wasn't doing well. If they only knew. But, just like with Gyeong-Wan, I would keep her secret. It wasn't for me to tell anyone.

"Let's sing 'Love Shack' by the B-52's!" I piped up, putting on my best impression of a happy face. I stuck my fingers into imaginary dimples, really hamming it up for her.

"Oh god, no." She covered her ears, letters still in her hand.

"Oh, I know this," Hanako grinned, slamming his fist into his hand.

Well, we sang. She screamed. She threw letters at us as we dodged expertly. There was no way she would win against drag queens who were wearing sneakers. We were used to dodging things in heels. By the end, she was laughing. We were losing our shit, not singing anything close to the real words. None of us spoke English, which is Charlotte's native language as she was born to American Navy parents.

"Oh my god, I'm going to die," she cracked up, holding onto the marquee and her belly, laughing so hard that it probably hurt. "Sing more. Sing um, do you know ABBA?"

"DO WE KNOW ABBA?! ABBA IS OUR BLOOD! I TOLD YOU WE'RE DRAG QUEENS! WOMAN! UGH!" Nikki shouted. He waved his arms wildly.

She completely lost it. Both hands on the marquee so she could stay upright. She snorted. "I love you guys," she sighed, then cracked up again.

Nikki proceeded to walk along the sidewalk as she laughed, gathering up the letters she'd thrown. When she wasn't looking, one hit her in the side. She looked up, saw what he was doing, and cackled so hard that it must have echoed up the street. He threw another letter at her. Hanako asked for one with his hands, and he got it, and he threw it, too. It hit her in the back.

"You little-," she laughed, taking down letters from the marquee. "I have more ammo than you do!"

"Prove it!"

As we all laughed, I picked up letters, too. It became all out war, and the best part of it was that she was laughing so hard that she was red in the face.

Afterward, on our way back to French Cup, I was thinking about Gyeong-Wan. How we'd made Charlotte feel better by making her laugh. That, no matter what she was going through, we'd gotten her to forget for a few minutes by filling her with joy. She'd needed her friends this afternoon, and we were there.

I wanted Gyeong-Wan to have friends, but how could I do it? How would I figure that out? They were so against him. With the neighborhood meeting tonight, they'd be discussing how against him they were. I wanted to prove to them that they were wrong, but it didn't seem like it mattered how good of a person he was. He represented the enemy, and that was final.

How could I show them that he wasn't a bad person? Maybe the hotel was bad, but he himself as an individual wasn't. In fact, he was just like us. He was part of the community, just not ours yet. I wanted him badly to be accepted. He needed it. His tears last night had proved it. Maybe if we all rallied around him, he might gain confidence in himself. I wanted him to have self confidence. He was so scared...

There were tears in my eyes as I rounded the corner to our street. Nikki and Hanako were right behind me, and I was leading the pack. With them there, I felt threatened. They both probably had negative opinions of him, with Nikki having told Hanako his own opinion. It broke my heart that someone so kind like Hanako could dislike him.

There were still a few hours before the meeting. Maybe somehow I could come up with a plan to show them he was good. That yes, we did have a major problem with the hotel, but he was not their enemy.

But...

As I entered the threshold of French Cup, my eyes went around it quickly. Trying to find him. It only took me a second to know he wasn't there. Dejected, I cleared the way, and without a word, I made my way into the kitchen to sit and think.