She pulled a blue plastic folder out of her bottom desk drawer and kept her fingers resting on the label.

“Her after-school art club privileges are suspended until the safety inquiry is resolved.”

Lucy tugged at the loose thread on her sleeve.

She was standing three feet away, close enough to hear every word across the polished linoleum.

“Who gave that instruction?” I asked.

“The order came down from the compliance office,” Mrs.

Gable said.

“The original report arrived by certified intake on December twenty-seventh, signed for by Brenda in guidance.”