The room is void of cubicles now. It is much smaller, and all of Zaniel’s co-workers are seated on the floor in a circle. He recognizes faces from the elevator ride — Matsubara-san, Maruyamasan — glaring at him. There is a woman in the middle of the circle of male co-workers. She, too, sits on her knees to account for her tight skirt. Large sheets of cardstock are perched on her lap. Her back is turned to Zaniel, but he can see when she lifts one of the cards for his co-workers to see.

“This is a pen!” the woman sings. She lifts another card. “This is a ball!” She repeats her actions. “It’s a cat! Now you try!”

The men shout in gleeful unison. “This is a pen! This is a ball! It’s ‘catto’!”

“Good!” The woman puts the last card down and claps her hands as though nothing can please her more. She turns a few degrees to her left and repeats the phrases for the next round of co-workers. Then, she turns to Zaniel and the men sitting in front of him. She gasps. She glares at him. Zaniel does not respond, merely waiting for her to make a move. It takes her a moment to gain her composure again. “This is a pen!” she says shrilly, holding up the first card. Her smile is a clenched row of sharp teeth.

Zaniel shrugs and mouths the words with his co-workers’ enthusiastic cries. There is not much he can do. “This is a pen!”

“Good! This is a ball!”

“This is a ball!”

“It’s a cat!”

“It’s ‘catto’!”

“It’s a cat,” Zaniel mutters at the same time.

The men turn to him with fierce glares. “Ehhh.” They exchange glances with each other. “Fucking little show-off, just because he’s a hafu …”

“Hey, Banana Boy!” Matsubara shouts across the room. “Go back to America if your English is so good. We’re trying to learn!”

“Machinasai!” Another woman suddenly appears. She is older, bigger than the first, and she is heading straight for Zaniel. She picks him gruffly by the arm. She tells him in a jumble of words that he should be ashamed for showing off. It makes the other students feel bad. Maybe a few minutes of standing out in the hallway to think about his actions will show him the error of his ways. She shouts for the English teacher to resume, closing the door behind him on her words.