Olympus University

"Your acceptance/rejection letter has been sent in the mail and you should receive it within one to two days." sighing Caleb logged out of his Harvard University web-site account. Caleb Astor had been waiting for his acceptance letters from the colleges he applied to. Caleb had just graduated high school with a perfect GPA and had applied to many prestigious schools. His school councilors had assured him that between his GPA and SAT scores that he would pretty much be accepted into all the schools that he had applied for, but for some reason no one had replied yet. And Caleb really needed to get into college.

Caleb Astor was abandoned at an orphanage when he was young and had later been adopted. With all that his adopted parents had done for him he figured getting top grades and getting into a good school was the least he could do in return.

John Astor had come from old money. Like really, really, old money. Like pre-civil war, old world, robber baron money. When John had met his wife Lily Taylor, who could draw her family line back to the Medici and Windsor families of Britain, they both fell quickly in love and married. They had three kids one year apart from each other. Lauren, Julie, and Ashley Astor were three pees in a pod growing up. In high school all were social butterflies and their studies were put to the wayside. With their family money none had to worry about working for a living and all their problems centered around marrying "young and good" as their grandmother put it.

John being an only child was the last heir to the Astor fortune and wanted to have a son but after three children it was found out that Lily was no longer capable of having another. Lily loved John so much that she offered to allow him to have sex with another woman to try and have a son ( since they were both against artificial insemination ) but John couldn't bring himself to do it. So after much deliberation they just decided to adopt a boy.

When Caleb got adopted he went from literally the lowest walks of life to the highest. The Astors were worth billions of dollars and now Caleb was a part of their high society lifestyle, balls and operas, country club parties and golf competitions, shrewd dealings and backstabbing were all now a part of his daily life.

And while the Astors never treated Caleb like any thing other than a son both of his parents made it painstakingly clear (albeit as nicely as possible) that the majority of their wealth would be divided among the sisters. John had later told Caleb that he would inherit the Astor family business and all the holdings after John's death or retirement and that any money Caleb made as the CEO of the company was his to keep.

So Caleb worked extremely hard in school to show his parents that he meant to take very good care of the business. From an early age he attended all of the business meetings and production think-tanks and even contributed every now and then and to tell the truth John was quite content in handing over the business to him right now. Caleb seeing that it only was eight thirty decided to go for his morning run with the hopes that when he returned the mailman would have had made his rounds hopefully bringing Caleb the news he sought.

On his run Caleb thought about many things but the first thing on his mind was how good he felt. Caleb had ran for the track and cross country teams in highschool and all of his teammates had been complaining over their lack of conditioning since graduating due to not having to attend practice anymore. Caleb never seemed to have a problem with his conditioning, even without practice and coaching. He was always able to run long distances without even a hint of fatigue. He never suffered from the things that plagued some of his friends like, muscle aches and sore feet. Caleb felt that he could run indefinitely at his optimum pace but never got the chance to try as his coach strictly forbade it. With college coming up and wanting to participate on the track team there as well, Caleb came to the decision to hold back on trying to find his limit.

As Caleb rounded the corner he saw the mailman's truck leaving his house. Caleb went to the mailbox and there was nothing inside it except a huge manila folder. The manila folder was addressed to him from some school called Olympus University. The return address was conveniently in Olympus, Washington.

When Caleb got to his room he went and sat at his desk to read the mail from Oly-U. He was surprised to see many other letters inside of the manila folders. They were all from different universities and institutions but there was one letter from Olympus U that said " PLEASE READ FIRST" so with slight apprehension he opened that one first. The letter read:

Dear Caleb Anston,

We at Olympus U have had our eyes on you for some time now. Enclosed in this envelope are your acceptance letters from all of the other schools you have applied to. We had these letters seized in the hope that you would hear us out about our offer for you to attend our university. While there is nothing I can say in this letter because of security reasons please make sure to visit your personal student page on our website. Your personal information is as follows:

Username: CalebAnston57

Password :3732870786

We looked forward to your reply

Sincerely, Hermilo Crone Dean of Admissions

Doing as the letter suggested Caleb went to his computer and logged onto the university's website. Logging into the website Caleb was stunned at what he saw. According to this website Olympus University boasted a incredible ninety-eight percent graduation rate, with an one hundred percent employment rate. On top of that a long list of graduates had went on to become Fortune 500 CEO's, billionaires, and an amazing thirteen presidents of the united states. On top of that all of their facilities were top of the line, ranging from the sciences to the arts to sports, every department was a cornucopia of knowledge and development.

At first Caleb thought that this website had to be a hoax. Any school that came even close to what he was seeing online was bound to be known worldwide, beating out a majority of Ivy League Schools and top foreign universities for the best students.

Caleb's questions were answered when he read that Oly-U didn't take applications. You had to be contacted by them to be admitted, apparently their student body was made up by a select few, only about two hundred new students a year. He also found out that there was a whole string of Olympus schools ranging from kindergarten to college. Many students would already have been at the school from a young age, making incoming college students somewhat of a rarity. Try as he might Caleb couldn't figure out just why he'd been contacted. Looking at the student breakdown it didn't point to catering to any particular ethnic group of social class. The student body seemed completely comprised of a mix of students. He did note that a majority of the incoming college freshman were from overseas though. That being mainly because the school couldn't get a hold of them until they were of college going age.

From what Caleb could tell the whole school was shrouded in an air of secrecy. Even while he was viewing the website in his browser, it wasn't showing up in his history. A person could even attend Oly-U and have a "cover university", a school that they could tell their family and friends they were attending. That appeared to be the reason that Caleb had received all of his other acceptance letters at the same time. He could show them to his parents and they would believe that he was going to whichever school he decided to say he was. They would intercept all mail from parents and have it sent to him at Olympus and all school fees would be taken care of. Tuition paid by parents would go into a fund for their child and the student would be free to spend the money how they felt.

Logging off of the website Caleb sat back to think. On one hand he had always dreamed of going to a major Ivy League school, kind of a way to show his adopted parents that he was appreciative of everything they did for him. But on the other hand, he was essentially going to take over the family business and what better way to pay them back then by getting the best possible education. From what he saw the education available at Oly-U was the best he would receive anywhere, on top of that he would be able to form current and future business contacts that would help his families wealth grow in the future.

In all fairness there really was only one sensible thing to do. He would attend Oly-U for as long as it took for him to get his degree. He saw that they had accelerated programs were you could get a Masters Degree in the same time it took to get a regular degree and Dr. Caleb Anston did have a certain ring to it. The only thing left to do was pick his cover school, and then accept his offer from Olympus University. He figured he would have the discussion with his family that night at dinner. The only college he flat out refused to attend was Brown University. His father and sisters all attended Brown, there would be just too many of his sister's friends and his father's acquaintances there for him to not to be really "there". Also his family would be able to come and visit regularly, with four of their children at Brown they would be likely to pop in frequently unannounced. He figured he'd just have to wait until dinner to find his cover school. _____

As Caleb got ready for dinner he studied himself in the mirror. It was clear to see that he was innately different from his adopted family. The Astors and Taylors were traditionally blonde, blue-eyed, and pale skinned all tracing lineage back to early Europe and the Nordic. Caleb on the other hand was extremely tall, and naturally olive skinned. His two defining features were his eyes and hair. Both being a deep black. Completely black eyes were somewhat rare, most people think they have black eyes but the majority have really dark brown eyes. Caleb's irises were almost indistinguishable from his pupils, if anything his pupils were just a shade lighter than his irises. His hair also was a very shiny black, It was naturally long and pointed to maybe a oriental descent, the only real clue he had about his birth parents.

His father had told him countless times that with his rare features it wouldn't be hard to track down his birth parents but Caleb had no interest in meeting his birth parents. He had no idea what type of circumstance drove them to give him up for adoption and he had no right to judge them. Although his time in the orphanage wasn't paradise it wasn't as bad as it could have been or had been for other orphans, and he really couldn't imagine being adopted by a better family then the Astors, all in all his life had turned out fantastic. He held no animosity of spite towards his birth parents at all, he didn't know where he came from and he was content in not knowing. In one aspect it made life simpler, his sisters were constantly worried about how their actions would reflect back onto the Astor and Taylor line. Everyone knew Caleb was adopted so his deeds always reflected solely on him. When his eldest sister Lauren's debate team won nationals, chiefly because of her efforts it was written of as something "expected" of an Astor. When Caleb won the national track meet however he was congratulated and celebrated, even more-so when he graduated as valedictorian.

Sometimes Caleb felt like he was treated as a rare animal, by the people around him. He was a fully capable young man who'd proven he was better than most all of his blue blooded peers, and he'd came from an unknown heritage. He was a hot commodity in the upper circles of his neighborhood, a fascinating specimen for people who'd thought that seen just about everything. Luckily his family never treated him that way, they only ever showered him with love and affection.

Just as Caleb finished straightening his tie his youngest older sister Ashley walked in. "Hey Kay, whatcha doing?"she asked. Caleb kind of bristled at the nickname, he thought it made him sound like a girl. No one but his sister's were allowed to call him Kay, ever.

"Nothin' Ash just getting ready for dinner." he told her. He hadn't told anyone about any of the letters he'd received that morning, he had phoned a friend to meet them at the restaurant, so it was going to be a big surprise when he sprung it on them all at dinner. Being wealthy the Astors liked to eat out all the time as a family. It was a good chance to try different cuisines, teach their children the rules of fine dining and it was always good for one of the town's premier families to be seen out and about. They tried to eat out at least three times a week. The number had went up to four now that everyone was home for the summer. It seemed that they had an easier time talking over a restaurant table then the home one. Mostly because one is expected to talk when dining out while talking during home meals was less important.

"Okay well I'll get out of your hair. We should be ready to go in just a minute so try not to take too long."Ashley said as she walked out of the door. Caleb strolled over to his desk, gathered up some of the various acceptance letters, and placed them in a mesh drawstring exercise bag. Slinging the bag over his shoulders he went to join his sisters downstairs as they waited on their parents to finish getting ready. ______

It was going on eight thirty and dinner was winding down. Caleb always enjoyed eating with his family. It gave them a chance to catch up with what the other's were doing. Ashley for the most part had nothing going on. She was off her freshman year at college and she wanted to do nothing more than laze around the house during her break. Julie was a sophomore going into her junior year and had declared herself as a literature major. Of all Caleb's sisters Julie was the most open minded and free spirited. She was kind of shy and quiet but also extremely smart. She was the salutatorian when she graduated but Caleb believed she intentionally held back in school. Most people would frown at a billionaire heiress deciding to become a literature major but Julie had the full support of her family. Realistically she'd probably never work a day in her life but if she enjoyed literature so much then why not have the documents to prove she knew what she was talking about. Lauren on the other hand wanted to become a politician. Like a lot of girls she always dreamed of being the first female president. The road to that started with a pre-law course at Brown as well as an undergrad in political science. She was entering her last year of her undergrad course and was excited to be interning during the summer.

John spent his portion talking about different things such as fiscal projections, quarterly revenue, and board meetings. Things that only really interested him and Caleb, but the others nodded along and feigned interest at the appropriate times. Lily was an avid volunteer in the community and always seemed to be part of some new project or humanitarian effort so she regaled everyone with what she was busy doing at the moment. The conversation was just getting to Caleb's recent news when the group was interrupted.

"Hey Caleb, sorry I'm late. Did I miss anything yet?"asked Abigail Lincoln. Abigail was Caleb's best friend in the world. When Caleb got to highschool Abigail was a junior and head of the girl's track team. She'd scouted him for the guy's team and they had grown to be friends. Over the next two years before she graduated Abigail and Caleb were nearly inseparable. They weren't dating or anything like that, they just got along so well and on so many levels that they just wanted to spend a majority of their time together. When Abigail went to college she'd made the decision to got to the state university so she wouldn't be too far away from Caleb. She'd drive down every weekend do they could hang out and their friendship remained as strong as ever.

In truth Caleb didn't make any big decisions in his life without first consulting Abby and his family. Even though he would just be choosing a false university Caleb knew that she'd be hurt if she was left out of the decision making process.

"No Abby you didn't miss anything, in fact I was just about to start talking."Caleb told her but before he could answer Lauren butted in.

"Caleb I don't doubt that you have something important to say but why is she here?"she practically spat out. Caleb wasn't stupid and he knew that Lauren and to a lesser extent his other two sisters didn't like Abigail that much. Well when it came to Lauren dislike didn't seem like a strong enough word, loathe was more like it. At one point she and Abigail had been friends but neither one wanted to tell Caleb why they now detested each other. It only got worse when Caleb and Abigail became friends, the first time she visited the house Lauren nearly exploded. Still Caleb had decided not to let his sisters's beliefs cloud his judgment of Abby. The reality of the situation was that Abigail and Lauren were no longer friends and they just rolled in different circles now, to the point were they couldn't reconnect and put the sordid past behind them. Caleb briefly thought about the irony that Abby's and Lauren's only mutual friend, Charlotte, was the women he lost his virginity to. He was just about to explain what Abby was doing there when he was cut off again.

"Well If you must know Lauren, Caleb called and told me he had something very important to discuss and asked me to meet you guys here tonight."Abigail shot back at the blonde at the table.

"What I mean is this is a family dinner. None family aren't allowed. And besides I was talking to my brother."

"And my best friend asked me to be here so there."Abigail finished with a huff. By now the waiter had brought another chair over her to sit in and she situated herself between Caleb and Julie.

"Caleb what is this b-"Lauren started to say before she remembered she was with her parents. No matter how much Lauren disliked the bitch she would never be so crude and disrespectful in front of them. "beautiful young lady doing here?"she corrected. Seeing as how everyone was now waiting on him to talk Caleb reached in his bag and pulled out the fifteen letters he brought with him. There were more at home but these were the prominent ones, the places where he could receive a fine education, the ones left at home were from the universities that wanted him for track or that couldn't provide top level education. There were five people so he divided the letters into groups of three and handed everyone a stack.

"What you see in front of you are the main candidates for my collegiate experience."Caleb said slipping into his businessman persona. In his mind this was just like a board or faculty meeting, he was meeting with the people he trusted most to discuss his plans for the future.

"To answer your question Lauren, Abby is here because I value her opinion and as you know I don't make any big decisions without talking with her and you guys first. Now if you all would please look at the three universities in front of you and then pass your stack to the next person, when you receive your original stack we can start discussing where I should attend."Caleb finished.

While everyone was looking at the different letters Caleb sat back and observed the people sitting with him. These were the people who mattered to him most, these five right here. His father who had took him in and taught him everything about business and life. His mother who always showed him love and care, never caring that he wasn't her "real" son. His three sisters who had helped him so much over the years that he would never be able to repay them. They welcomed him into their sisterhood with open arms from day one.