Having no intention of pursuing higher education, Katie left for Africa with her parents just two days after the high school graduation exams concluded.
Meanwhile, Mike's summer plans underwent a significant shift due to a phone call from Dennis.
After a year of observation, the welfare agency in Minnesota had decided to unlock Mike's inheritance rights.
According to Mike's parents' will, he was entitled to inherit all assets upon reaching "adulthood."
However, the definition of "adulthood" in the document was legally ambiguous.
While the law typically sets the age of majority at eighteen, certain family traditions consider sixteen as the threshold for adulthood (rites of passage).
Thus, Mike's inheritance clause had considerable wiggle room.
Mike's performance over the past year had impressed the Minnesota agency, demonstrating his potential for future success.
With the intent of building a positive relationship, the agency, after much deliberation, decided to do him a favor and release the assets early.
This timing was serendipitous. Mike, who was preparing to make waves in the stock market, was in desperate need of seed capital.
Upon hearing the news, he immediately decided to make the trip back north.
Based on Mike's knowledge, his family's small estate generated an annual cash flow of roughly eighty thousand dollars.
Accumulated over the years, the family trust account should hold over a million dollars in liquidity.
With this capital injection, Mike could ride the surging waves of the food and internet industries to make a killing in the stock market.
It's fair to say that in this era of economic boom, America was practically printing money.
Traditional industries, the dot-com boom... options were plentiful.
If everything went according to plan, Mike was even confident enough to stick a foot in the door of the future cryptocurrency market.
Never underestimate the power of capital.
Given the circumstances, Mike's primary mission for the summer was to return home and secure his assets.
For the past two days, he had been making preparations for the journey.
While his red Ferrari was flashy, it was ill-suited for a cross-country road trip.
Prioritizing utility, Mike had asked George to keep an eye out for a suitable used vehicle nearby.
For long-distance travel, a pickup truck or an SUV was the optimal choice.
"Mike, you have mail again..." Paige walked in with a stack of envelopes, placing several acceptance letters in front of him.
Mike was currently at Meemaw's house, waiting for news from George.
Looking at the letters, he flipped through them casually and raised an eyebrow. "An acceptance letter from Columbia University? That is statistically unexpected..."
It had been a while since the graduation exams. Universities were now sending out acceptance letters to their prospective students.
Mike had received plenty of letters before, but most were from persistent local Texas colleges or second- and third-tier schools out of state.
Receiving an offer from Columbia—an Ivy League institution—was genuinely surprising.
"It is of no consequence. Columbia sent me an acceptance letter as well." Seeing Mike's surprised reaction, Paige stated the fact with a touch of haughtiness.
Of course, this remark was likely driven by her competitive streak.
After all, they had both previously decided against skipping grades to attend university.
Whether it was Columbia or community college, it made little difference to their plans.
However, Sheldon, who was in the computer room researching aerospace data, overheard the conversation in the living room and couldn't sit still.
"Columbia acceptance letter? Let me inspect it..."
Sheldon marched into the living room, picked up the letter in front of Mike, and examined it scrutinized it closely.
It was indeed Columbia, one of the top universities in the country.
"It appears to be authentic..." Having verified the letter's legitimacy, Sheldon's composure crumbled. "Why have I not received one?"
Always priding himself on academic superiority, Sheldon had come to Meemaw's house to research data for Dr. Sturgis's team. He hadn't expected to suffer such a crushing blow to his ego.
Having mastered the high school curriculum long ago, Sheldon had been eagerly anticipating university to absorb new knowledge.
Regrettably, he had not received a single acceptance letter this year.
"Impossible. There must be a glitch in the system. I must return home to investigate..." Deeply shaken, Sheldon realized something was wrong.
If Mike and Paige received letters, Sheldon—who considered himself their equal, if not superior—refused to believe he wouldn't receive at least one.
With that thought, he hurriedly left Meemaw's house.
"What stimulus triggered that reaction?" Paige asked, confused by Sheldon's sour expression as he stormed out.
"Who knows? Perhaps gastrointestinal distress..." Mike shook his head, declining to pursue the topic.
In reality, Mike knew exactly why. Sheldon was going home to check his mail.
A genius brain combined with a massive ego made failure difficult to accept.
Even though Mike and Paige hadn't intended to mock him, their success inevitably made Sheldon feel inadequate.
"By the way, when is your scheduled departure?" Seeing Mike drop the subject, Paige switched topics.
She was vaguely aware of Mike's plan to return to Minnesota.
"As soon as I acquire a suitable vehicle. Likely within the next forty-eight hours. And you?" Mike responded.
"My parents are arriving tomorrow to collect me. We have a family vacation scheduled." Paige shared her plans.
As mentioned before, Mr. Swanson owned a small clinic, so the family was financially comfortable.
After sending their youngest daughter away to boarding school for six months, her parents likely felt guilty.
To compensate, the Swansons were planning a lavish trip to spoil Paige this summer.
"I wish you a pleasurable vacation." Mike offered his blessing.
Since the Swansons' marital issues had been resolved, spending quality time with them to re-establish family bonds was a positive development for Paige.
"Thank you. Safe travels to you as well." Paige smiled, then added, "See you next academic year."
Distance makes the heart grow fonder. Knowing her mother's personality, Paige had opted to continue attending Medford High next year.
"See you next year." Mike smiled back.
Summer break in the US school system was significant, but for these accelerated programs or specific schedules (contextually adjusted), they would reunite soon enough.
---
Meanwhile, back at the Cooper residence, Sheldon first checked the mailbox at the front door.
Finding it empty, he refused to give up and began ransacking his room.
Persistence paid off. After turning his room upside down, Sheldon finally discovered a large stack of university acceptance letters hidden deep inside a junk drawer—concealed by Mary.
"I knew it. My statistics are not inferior to Mike's." Sheldon grinned as he examined the letters, instantly fantasizing about his future university life.
However, when Mike and Paige arrived at the Cooper house for dinner, the atmosphere was tense.
"What is the status here?" Mike asked, seeing Sheldon's tight, unhappy face.
"My university acceptance letters were intercepted and concealed by Mom. She does not wish for me to attend college..." Sheldon replied dejectedly.
"I don't object to you going to college, Shelly. It's just too soon. You can't take care of yourself yet..." Mary tried to soothe her youngest son.
Mary's reason for hiding the letters was simple: she feared her "baby" couldn't survive without family supervision.
In her mind, Sheldon would always be a helpless child.
"Mary, this action is excessive. You should have at least consulted us before making an executive decision," George expressed his dissatisfaction with his wife's unilateral action.
George actually supported Sheldon going to college. As a Cooper man, Sheldon needed to learn independence eventually.
"Mom, I am fully capable of self-care..." Sheldon promised, trying to persuade his mother.
"No, you're too young. You've never been away from home alone. You have no idea how hard it is. Besides, Columbia is too far..." Mary remained firm.
The thought of her little boy going so far away made her anxious.
"Perhaps Shelly could attend East Texas Tech with John first? It would allow him to acclimate to university life closer to home," Meemaw suggested a compromise, seeing the argument escalating.