Trashed elbow

So, I said, settling into my chair at the beginning of the lesson, what's new?

I rented Superman II from the video shop, beamed one of my two students.

Interesting, I lied, after a suitably weighted pause. What a pity that Christopher Reeve is dead. What's the last DVD that you rented? (This to the other student, of course.)

The other student shifted uneasily in her seat and asked me if it was ok to use Japanese. I, reasonably enough, pointed out that if it was a Japanese DVD then some use of her mother tongue was probably OK. The student then, smiling coyly, in a low murmur (and entirely in Japanese), gave the title of the DVD and a few of the significant plot details to her partner, who giggled schoolgirlishly. My ears pricked up.

Sorry, let me get this straight, I said, leaning forward. This film is about a baishun?

My student froze in her seat, her mouth flapping wordlessly and a look of horror evident in her eyes. In her naivety, it had never occurred to her that I might know the Japanese word for Prostitute.