Chapter 6They glanced once at the picture, that image of the new discovery of an impossibly old presence, and then looked up, regarding the rows of expectant faces before them. There was a long moment in which they said nothing, and then, at last, they snatched the newspaper up from their desk and held it aloft.
“What’s this?” they asked.
Before them, the class looked confused, uncertain, and with discontent they turned and pointed at one of the students.
“You, there, Mizuta,” they said, voice a coarse bark, the newspaper grasped in their hand. “What’s this?”
The young boy turned pale, looking fearfully at his teacher.
“A-A newspaper, Christmas-sensei,” he stammered.
“Language,” the other corrected him, their voice a sudden roar as they shook the paper. “This is language.”
With sudd
