Oasis

Hermes

"How y"all doin" tonight?" the MC for the night asked.

The crowd cheered. It was Fellas Night at the Green Cosmos and it was packed with mostly men. Some gorgeous CEOs and important businessmen. Time to pull out all the stops.

Being a drag queen is my favorite hobby. Lining my lips, glitter on my cheeks, outrageous eyebrows; it"s all so magical. Every little boy had their fantasies. Some wanted to be leaders or bakers, others astronauts, some wanted to be explorers and sail beyond the Andromeda Galaxy, or even stay at home dads who paint as a hobby whole their lovers went to work. But not this one. I"ve always wanted to be a star.

My parents were nothing but supportive of my dream. I took a multitude of acting classes and singing coaches, I went to every audition. Every talent agency wanted to get a hold of Hermes Zilberschlag. I was going places as a kid. But t was never enough for me. Then, I learned of the existence of drag queens.

 It was my most fondest memory. I was talking a tram home from working in a shampoo commercial. It was late and empty on the tram. It was only me and an old couple who were probably fast asleep. The tram had three stops before mine. It was on the stop before mine that I met someone magical.

She had a long, sparkling, black sequin dress that was backless, a long, faux rabbit fur boa, stardust grey, Juniper 12 platform heels with a hologram of the Milky Way in the platform part, golden skin, and a red bob that framed her masculine, feline face perfectly. I saw a real live goddess covered in gold.

Behind her were two men in glamorous suits with flute glasses of champagne and shopping bags. Her own entourage. They all had an air of sophistication and glamour. They didn"t look like that for attention. They had your attention because of their aura, how she held herself. High class society type.

"Well looky here." Her acid green cat eye contacts found me gawking at her.

"Aren"t you a cutie. Why are you out late at night?" Her voice put me in a trance. It was like satin and honey.

"Uh...me?" I pointed to myself. I never experienced stage fright in my life until now.

"Yes you!" She giggled.

"M-my name is Hermes. Hermes..Zil-Zilberschlag." I stammered.

Her hand went to her mouth in shock. "The Hermes Zilberschlag! Amazing! You"re in one of my faaaaavorite commercials!" Her breath was heavy with alcohol.

My eyes went wide. "R-really?"

"Yes! I loved the commercial with the dog and the microfrisbee! It was adorable."

"Well, thanks! One day I hope to end up in a movie!"

"Well, if I can wear these 10 inch platform heels almost 24/7 you can be on the silver screen soon enough!" She clasped my hands with hers and came in close.

"My name is Madame Leo, professional drag queen at your service!"

A real live drag queen. The tram stopped. "Oh no, this is my stop. I"m sorry." I started to get up.

"Here"s my card, Mr. Star. Call me when you get your big boy pants and wanna have some fun." She held a card out to me and winked.

I took the card and thanked her. The card itself had gold and fancy lettering and little cherubs with hearts around the border. Madame Leo Lioness, Drag Queen of Andromeda. What a goddess.

I had kept that card for awhile. I didn"t know what she meant then, call me when you get your big boy pants.

I was naive then. The longer I held that card with me, the more I wanted to know about these queens and their world. At the same time, I wasn"t passionate about being an actor or a singer anymore. Landing commercials or posing for a large ad across Triton and beyond were easier and easier to land for me. But, again, it was never enough. I wanted to be in the lime light with all the lights and cameras facing me.

After about a month I decided to call the number.

"Altair Santiago Garcia Ayala speaking, how may I help you," said a familiar, silken voice.

"Hi...um...it"s me. Hermes-"

"OH! MY! POSEIDON! HERMES! It"s been so long," Altair squealed.

I kept my comm bracelet at a distance.

"Don"t be a stranger! Turn on the hologram!"

I turned it on and there was an unknown man in a pink feather boa lounging on a pink chaise lounge and an e-pipe in one hand.

"Your mouth is open sweetheart. You"ll catch flies that way."

I shut my mouth quick. Why is it with her, I get so clammed up?

"What a quaint little room you have. Aren"t you the adviser"s son?"

It was true. Elric Zilberschlag formally known as Hermes Zilberschlag ll was the adviser to Emperor Zedekiah. I nodded.

"Well, are you old enough yet, or does the baby still need diapers?" Altair took a long puff of his pipe and blew smoke rings.

"What should I call you?" I blurted out.

"What do you mean?" Altair sat up straight. He had brown eyes, brown skin, and a bald head. He still had some makeup on but it was too dark in his room I couldn"t really tell.

"I mean, should I call you Altair, or Madame Leo, he or she or...I don"t know I"m very new."

"Awe, what a nervous little thing, you"re turning into a tomato. Listen, you can just call me Miss Altair. Strangers call me he but I don"t much care. Gender norms don"t really suit me"

"So she is fine?"

"She is fine. " She smirked.

"What do you do? As a drag queen I mean."

"Well, being a drag queen is fun. It"s like being a star. You can be anything as a drag queen. A mermaid, a queen, comedienne, even the famous singer Siren Ophelia."

"Amazing, like an impersonator?"

"Yes, you can be. But impersonations are for tourists and don"t make the big bucks. What you really want is to be an entertainer; book gigs, perform in shows!"

Entertainer.

Miss Altair told me more about drag queens until very late at night. That"s when I knew.

"A drag queen?! Are you crazy?" My boyfriend shook me.

"Let me go, Ptolemy!" I shoved him away.

"I"m sorry," Ptolemy let go and brushed me off. "But you want to be, one of those? Isn"t your career as a star good enough?"

"No, I"m sick and tired of only booking commercials and being an extra! And don"t get me started on modelling!" I kicked a can across the street.

We were walking home from school the next day. Everyday I walk Ptolemy Fujino home since, his house was closer. We"ve been together for most of high school. He was so sweet and kind and shy. But for some reason, he was much louder today.

"But you"re still a kid. You have your whole life ahead of you." He twirled around a light pole.

"This isn"t a musical, enough with the theatrics." I laughed.

"I"m sorry. But do you think you can make an honest living from being a performer like that? I mean sure in that kind of community you"ll make enough, but you can only work in that red light district in the District. No one is ever able to make a decent living there." He put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed gently.

"I heard it might be moving closer to Neptune. And I don"t care. Miss Altair is going to help me with my drag name and everything it"s going to be stellar!"

Ptolemy sighed and kisses me. "That"s why I fell for you. That passion in your heart and the stars in your eyes."

I kissed him back. "Well, I only fell for you because your ass looks amazing in that boys uniform."

He shoved me playfully. "Wouldn"t your parents be upset? I mean the adviser"s son, a drag queen! Tabloids would eat that up."

I stopped walking. He was right. "Keep this between only us Ptolemy!"

We pinky swore and went home to f**k at his place.

Every time I had the chance I would visit Miss Altair. I learned more and more about drag culture and what it means to be a drag queen. It was a long road to perfection, I wasn"t able to really perform until about two years later. By then my parents figured out I wasn"t happy with becoming a star so instead they arranged it so that I could shadow my father"s duties in becoming an adviser. At night, and on most weekends, I would go see Miss Altair.

"We still haven"t come up with your name yet." She paced back and forth in thigh high, red pleather boots.

Her outfit today consisted of khaki shorts, a purple tank, and her favorite pink feather boa. It was a dress down day. That, and the air in her apartment was shut off...again.

"Damn landlord can suck my ass. Turning off my air again this month, I know when I pay my goddamn rent." She bit her nails.

"Miss Altair, may I ask, how did you get your name?"

She stopped pacing and faced me. Her thumb nail was still in her mouth, brow furrowed. She sat next to me and held me close.

"I never told you how I became a queen, huh?"

She told me her story. A poor, Argentinian boy trying to make a living in America trying to buy his ticket to M-25. He had traveled all over earth in drag shows but, like me, he wanted more. He wanted to start a community on this new planet. And so he did. It was small, and not many people showed up. But overtime he was able to create the Green Cosmos bar.

Soon he had patrons and more queens showing up. It was paradise. But it still wasn"t enough. She wanted to bring Green Cosmos to Neptune and Triton. But her plan was shut down. Too scandalous, too s****l, think of the children!

"I got my name in a simple fashion really. I"m a Leo, and I loved lions, that"s why my drag style is very feline-esque."

"What about the title Madame?"

She closed her eyes and smiled. "Leo Lioness wasn"t enough for me. My closest friend wasn"t a prostitute, really, she was a Madame, the woman taking the money and regulating the girls in her brothel. But everyone always called her one. But she didn"t give a f**k. What a bad b***h she was. That"s what I wanted to be. A Madame."

That was almost 26 years ago today.

"Introducing the most lavish, the wonderful, the one and only with charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent, the reason the lights in this goddamn place stay on; Miss. Lady. Gemini!" I was introduced onto the stage.

I sauntered on beat to the thumping music in with a backless, green sequined dress, sky high heels that had a hologram of a dancing stripper from the planet Bikineez, my hair was styled high in various shades of green. My skin had feathers. My strong, prominent nose was bedazzled with cubic zirconia diamonds.

"Greetings tourists, single hunks, and...charitable businessmen! It is I, your queen, your goddess, Lady Gemini Xtravaganza!" I formed my arms in an X and everyone cheered and did the same.

This was what I craved, this was what I wanted.