She carried her yellow canvas backpack with the squashed ear of her red plush rabbit poking out of the top zipper pocket.

The secretary at the front desk, Mrs.

Gable, tapped a red ballpoint pen against her green blotter before I could reach the inner hallway doors.

“Clara, come over to the desk for a moment,” she said.

I told Lucy to wait by the wall display of paper winter mittens.

“Is there a problem with her attendance record?”

“The administration flagged Lucy’s file on Friday afternoon,” Mrs.

Gable said.