Every day after school, Kai walks from school to his mom’s hairsalon: The Gathering Place. There, visitors come through not just for a trim, but to catch up on local happenings. And each of them—aside from being a diverse mix of multigenerational clientele—all have one thing in common. They love to talk and they love words. Through each character, vocabulary is introduced, positioning words in different contexts. Kai is right there to absorb it all, in the neighborhood he loves.