I sat across from Principal Vance in his office at Washington Elementary.

The window behind his desk looked out on the gravel drop-off lane where the school buses were idling in the cold.

He held Noah’s medical deposit form between two fingers and leaned back in his swivel chair.

He took off his gold-rimmed glasses and started polishing the lenses on the thick silk tip of his patterned tie.

“The district prescription assistance program needs a verified co-pay deposit before the state allotment is released, Mrs.

Lindahl,” he said.