Chapter 52: Spring Approaching

January and February steadily melted away under a blanket of unseasonably warm spring rain that coaxed the early bluebonnets out of the damp Texas soil far ahead of schedule. With the arrival of true spring came the final, stressful countdown to graduation day, bringing a flurry of cap-and-gown fittings, senior prank planning sessions, and thick acceptance envelopes arriving daily in the rural mailboxes along every dusty road throughout Cortis.