"You came as a literal monster. Nice job, Nikki." Nikki's sister was pressed in the blue doorway of a small preschool. "What is that, the Slenderman? That's why the parents got mad last time. A vampire, and now this."

"The kids like it. And no, I'm not Slenderman." He leaned in to her.

She side-eyed him as he grinned. "Then, what are you?" She sighed, obviously used to these kinds of antics. It was endearing both of them to me.

"I'm Slenderina."

"You're-Slender-ina-you-little-piece-of-goddamn-" She hit him in the chest with each syllable as he laughed at her. 

"Teacher's hitting Slenderman! Get him!"

All of us got out of the way as a massive torrent of sound enveloped our ears. Screaming, laughing, many, many feet. Nikki saw what was coming and took off in the other direction, letting out a howling fake scream of terror, grinning hugely. His sister put two fingers between her eyes. "I'm going to need a migraine pill after-" she started as children flooded out of the building and into the yard we'd just made our way across. There were toys littered everywhere in the grass from cars for tykes to tricycles and sports balls. 

"How is he running in those platform heels?" Kazuya asked next to me, and Nikki's sister just shook her head, smiling despite her sour words. Before our eyes, the kids bowled him over and he hit the ground on his back, fending off little hands. 

"Ow, not my crotch! Shit!" Nikki yelled at them as they swarmed him.

"Clown said a bad word!" A little girl shouted over them. One little boy went to get plastic bat with a yellow foam covering on it.

"Ahhh," his sister sighed, one hand on her cheek as she laughed. "This is really my favorite part of being a teacher."

"What, watching them beat up your brother?" Kazuya asked, grinning at them, too.

"Yeah. Absolutely. Every time. He's kind of an asshole. He deserves it." She swiped a happy tear from her eye as Nikki laughed so loud that it must have hurt. 

"Wait, but. They said 'Slenderman'. Do they know that's Nikki?" Kazuya asked, looking at her now in confusion.

"Probably. I don't know. It's like a sixth sense. They go into attack mode when he's around. Ahh, I'm not going to call them in yet. Let them have fun and get their energy out. Did you bring the cookies? I found the book you wanted." 

Kazuya clapped his gloved hands together in excitement. "Yay! Yes, I brought the cookies. They're in boxes in the trunk of the car. They're all ready to go. I made enough for the parents, too. There's plenty."

"That's so great. Let's bring them inside." She stepped into the yard, and we followed her. As we passed Nikki, I lingered on him. He appeared to be having the time of his life. It struck me as a strange, but wonderful thing to get used to. 

As we started to bring the boxes in, chants went up in the yard and the kids forgot all about Nikki. What came with us were many excited children chanting, "COOKIES, COOKIES, COOKIES." Nervous excitement went up in me, too, as I tripped over my dress for the millionth time. 

Kazuya had loved the final product when Hanako had revealed me. We'd come out of his hotel room's bathroom together. 

"Ta da!" He'd said, his arm outstretched. "Now presenting Miss Gyeong-Wan! It is her debut, who will take her for a first dance?" He asked as if this were a debutante ball.

"Ohhhh," Kazuya had gasped, his hands clasped together and pressed to his chest. 

My hair was long and raspberry candy blue, tight waves. A golden garland of leaves was my crown. A matching, soft blue Grecian dress was on me in a conservative cut, everything covered that needed to be. The sleeves were long, loose, and cuffed, but had peekaboo-like slits that let the air in. The skirt of it was against the floor, meant to trail behind as a slit went up the leg, revealing a second skirt that ended at my mid-calf since I was too tall. There was elaborate draping in the material, like one would see on a classical statute from ancient times. One such drape across the bust made me look like I had boobs. Every time I stared down at it, it made me blush. 

Hanako had "beat" my face, as he'd called it. There were many thick layers of makeup, many more than I thought went into this. A layer to cover remaining stubble on my chin after shaving me as closely as he could in this short time we had. Another one to "prime", everything as he'd said. More and more. I'd counted at least four layers, and then came the countering and highlighting. It must melt during the summer. How women did it, I'd never know. What if I sweated? After that had come even more layers. More "priming" on my eyelids. So much eyeshadow to create a "multi-faceted look". Then my lips were another story. He liked my lips. "There's so much here to work with, they're full like a woman's. I'm jealous," he'd said, turning my face with his fingers tips on my chin like a barber.

When he'd finished, he'd delicately taken my face with his hands, one on either cheek. He'd beheld me, smiling to himself. "This means I'm your drag mother now," he'd said, so pleased. "Go show them my work." He'd gently tapped my shoulder with his kabuki brush, to urge me on. I'd been too nervous to move much when he'd first done it, but he guided me out. And ah, the reward.

Kazuya had hugged me so tight, squealing and laughing. I hugged him, too, feeling the smooth fabric all over my body. The air between my legs. The strange sensation of the train of the dress tugging behind all the time. Accidentally pulling at my long wig, then the startling realization over and over that it wasn't cotton candy strings and was actually attached to my head. Viewing the world under false eyelashes and feeling their weirdness on my face, like foreign beings that had taken up a home on my eyelids. My lips kept pressing into my mouth, exposing my dimples embarrassingly, as I felt their weird waxy sensations with the lipstick. 

Even so, I was excited. This was Kazuya's world, and I was a part of it. It made me giddy, knowing we were on the same ground. Was this how he felt when he was in drag? All these new sensations. I could never have imagined it.

"Does anyone have any more questions for our guests?" 

Bunches of little hands shot up in the air. Every kid still had a question. They were all sitting cross-legged on a large carpet with an alphabet of hiragana characters on it. There had to be at least forty kids here. Every class in the small building had gathered for this special day. They were all adorably wearing different colored paper chef hats, obviously handmade. Many had crayon drawings all over them, and the younger kids had their hand prints on them. Teachers sat with them, keeping them under control. Parents were sitting behind the carpet on folding chairs. Some of the even younger kids were sitting on their parents' laps, and some parents were holding their babies. It was a large room, seemed like a gathering room for activities for the whole school. 

Nikki's sister acted like she was choosing carefully, and finally she gestured at a little girl with pigtails and pink goggle glasses. If I'd had to guess, I'd say she was three. She hesitated, and her teacher urged her with a smile and kind words.

"Um..." She said quietly. Nikki leaned in, smiling to her. He'd been the one answering most of the questions. He was good at it. "Um..." She said again. She poked her hands, not looking at us. "Do you like...um...strawberries?" 

My heart melted again. Most of the questions had been like this. Do you like coloring books? Who's your favorite Disney Princess? What's your favorite color? Do you know who Peppa Pig is? Does your mom make spaghetti? I could listen to it all day.

Kazuya gasped gently, grinning at her. She glanced up at him and smiled, too. Her teacher squeezed her shoulder, proud of her. "I love strawberries," he said, loving the question, too. "I use them all the time when I bake cakes. Does your mommy bake cakes on your birthday?" 

The little girl looked at her teacher. "She um," she said, clearly answering Kazuya, but too shy. "She bought one at the grocery store. It was um, chocolate. I liked it." A little blush appeared on her face, but she was grinning.

Her teacher rubbed her on her head. "Oh, that's great Mika. Good job," she said, finishing for her.

Everyone, including us, clapped for the little girl. She grinned even wider, proud of herself.

The hands shot up again, and Nikki's sister carefully chose a younger child who was sitting in the front row very near to us. The child immediately went shy, too. A lot of them had. So eager to ask a question, but nervous to be the center of attention. 

"Um," the little boy said. We all leaned in to better hear him. He smiled at the carpet. "Pink girl, you smell like cake frosting. I ate cake frosting, and my mom got mad at me."

A smattering of giggles went up within the parents. 

"Thank you," Kazuya grinned at him, completely delighted. "I hope you can eat cake frosting and your mom won't get mad at you."

"Don't count on it!" A woman in the back called out, obviously this boy's mother. Everyone laughed at that.

An older child rudely interrupted everybody, without being chosen. "Why are you dressed like that?" He asked loudly over everyone. If I'd had to guess, he looked nine or ten. There were a few children here who were older, maybe the siblings of some of the young ones. 

"Rephrase the question," Nikki pointed at him, challenging him since he was older and could understand.

"You're guys, right? Why do you choose to wear that?"

Some of the younger children tilted their heads in wonder. Maybe they hadn't known we were men. There'd certainly been entertainers that I'd seen on TV as a kid who dressed like we were, and I hadn't known they were men. I'd just enjoyed them, since they were on TV. Later, I'd realized what was going on and was filled with curiosity probably just like these kids. It didn't change my opinion of these entertainers. I still loved them. But, it was just another page in their stories.

"Well, as your preschool director said," Nikki said, totally taking command of the question. "We are drag queens. Who here has seen a play?" He rose his hand to show them what to do.

About half of the hands went up. 

"Who here knows what a play is?"

Most of the hands went up.

"Well, we're actors like in a play. We're wearing costumes. We take on the role of women, because it's fun to do it. We go to a lot of events, just like this one. We talk to people, make them laugh, sing, dance. We're often paid money to do it, like a job, but it's also an art form. A lot of people have done it, since before you were born. It's an honor to do it. We're carrying on a tradition that has touched the lives of so many."

The parents started clapping at his explanation. They liked it very much. His explanation made me consider his words carefully. 

From what I'd researched, drag was a lot more than what he'd said, but his explanation was a child safe version. Something they could understand, and I admired that. It almost made me wonder if he'd planned such an answer just in case. It was too perfect. 

"It's a job?" A little girl called out after the clapping had died down. "My dad's a doctor."

"That's amazing," Kazuya admired her, not missing a beat. "I bet he heals a lot of people."

"He heals my Barbies."

"Awww."

The parents clapped and laughed adoringly, too, and Nikki's sister stepped in, carrying a book like it was a prize being presented. "Okay, everyone. We're going to read a book now. Who knows this book?" 

"It's 'If You Give a Mouse a Cookie!'" About twenty voices echoed each other in one long shout.

"That's right! Everyone give yourselves a pat on the back!"

All of the kids adorably began patting themselves on the back eagerly, grinning at one another. This had to be something they did routinely to feel good about themselves. It was fantastic.

"Can I have a cookie now?" Another little girl asked. Her mom walked up behind her and swooped her up into her lap faster than she could say another word. Kazuya giggled. 

"After we read this, yes. You want to know what we're going to bake together, right?" He asked, graciously taking the book like it was a precious thing from Nikki's sister and bowing to her slightly.

All of the kids answered in unison, going, "haaaiii!" to various degrees, an enthusiastic "yes". 

"Okay. Let's find out." 

I was smiling so much that my face hurt. Loving every second of this. My heart was so full, so much more than when I'd jumped rope at the family event before the hotel's 5K run. All these curious, happy faces. The parents participating, enjoying this, too. It was just...pure bliss. 

Kazuya lifted the book up, showing them the cover. He pointed to each word, like a natural Mother Goose. With a big, joyous breath, he began, reading out the words on the cover to them with a loud and lovely voice.

"If you give a mouse a cookie..."