“She needs to calm down,”
Mzz B says, turning her back on me.
“Someone give her a hand.”
And I like being referred to
as “her” but I don’t know why.
Katy helps me glue on my lashes
and reapply the eye shadow
I smudged in my previous failed attempts
of lash adhesion.
“You look gorgeous, Mike,” says Katy.
“You look pretty handsome,” I say to her.
I look at everyone in their costumes
and it’s like we’re about to do a play
that we’ve been rehearsing for, separately,
our whole lives.
I’ve not seen anyone else’s act in full
and they’ve not seen mine, either,
and yet we’re about to do this show, together.
Mzz B introduces me
and the audience applauds lightly.
I recognize Sienna’s solitary, “Whoop!”
as I breathe deeply, offstage
in the wings. I see Sienna
and Lennie sitting at the front
as I enter in my borrowed pink
fluffy coat and handbag.
Pink wig and black heels,
the rest hidden for now.
I stand center stage
in the spotlight and say,
