The youngest of the cadets walking the halls were at least 4 years older than he was. The oldest were 8 to 10 years older. The difference was immediately obvious. They were all bigger than he was, after all. The only thing that they all had in common – besides the cadet uniform Shawn and the others were wearing – was that he knew exactly where he was going, too. Some of those that were wearing first year patches on their uniforms like he was look a little lost, but Jack and Sam had made sure that Shawn would know his way around the academy when he came.

Earlier that summer they'd take him down, and Sam had given him a thorough tour of the place, pointing out where the dorms were, where the gyms and classrooms and pools and cafeteria and infirmary were. Even where the offices were of the Commandant, and all his subordinates were. Shawn had a great memory, and even with the bustle around him, he knew exactly where his room was.

His room wasn't at all like a normal college dorm. Yes, there were two beds – one for him, one for his roommate – two desks, a window and two footlockers for most of his gear to go in – except the uniforms, which would hang in the shared closet – but there was where the differences ended. The room was neat and tidy when Shawn walked into it, and he knew that he and his roommate were expected to keep it that way. There were no slobs allowed in the Air Force. He knew this from listening to Sam tell him what was expected of cadets. In that, Sam had been far more help to Shawn than Jack was. She'd been there, after all. He'd seen her name on the honor wall, where there were records and stats kept. Sam had made her mark at the Academy, and Shawn was determined he was going to, also.

"Hey!"

He was barely through the door of his room when someone came in behind him. A tall, incredibly tanned guy with short hair that was so light it was almost white, and blue eyes that were brighter than any summer sky Shawn had ever seen. This was his roommate, River. Shawn knew, because he'd seen his picture and had received a letter from him.

"Hi."

"You have to be Shawn."

The younger man nodded, smiling nervously, and stuck out his hand.

"Shawn Adams. It's nice to finally meet you."

The guy grinned and shook Shawn's hand.

"I'm River – but I suspect everyone's just going to call us by our last names around here, so it'll be Hayden, huh?" His smile was so friendly that Shawn's nervous grin broadened. "You can call me River, or Hayden. Whatever you want."

"Same here."

"So, it'll be Shawn, then... unless they make me call you Adams."

"River it is."

River nodded, and pointed to the bed on the right.

"I took that bunk, but if you want it, I'm not married to it."

"Either is fine. thanks."

Shawn crossed over and set his bag on his bed, and sat down. The rest of his gear had already been delivered, and was sitting in a neat pile by the door. He'd put it away later.

River sat down on his bed, watching Shawn, obviously curious.

"So... you're really only fourteen?"

Shawn nodded. He was ready for questions.

"I just turned fourteen."

"I just turned nineteen." River said. "How'd you get in so young?" He grinned, "I was going to ask you who you had to sleep with to get in so young, but I suppose that wasn't the method you used, huh?"

Shawn shook his head, smiling. He already liked this guy.

"I've been taking advanced classes for a while, now, and I took the Academy entrance exam land passed, so I decided to come."

"So you're a genius, huh?"

Shawn shrugged.

"I wouldn't say that... but I do okay."

"Are the rest of your family geniuses?"

Shawn shook his head. No, my mom's an alien, and my dad's an Air Force Colonel. Yeah, that wasn't the response to make.

"No. Just me."

River laughed.

"Well, at least I know where to come if I need help with my homework."

Shawn smiled. This was going to be much better than he'd hoped. River seemed to be willing to accept Shawn even though he was a lot younger. Maybe the rest of the people around him would, too.

"You're from California?"

River nodded, accepting the switch from asking questions to answering them readily.

"San Diego."

"What did you do there?"

"Surf, water ski, windsailing, kayaking. You name it."

Which explained his tan.

"Why did you come here instead of a regular school?"

"Because I'm going to be an Air Force pilot, and this is the place to learn that," River told him. "Just like Tom Cruise in Top Gun."

"He was a Navy pilot."

River laughed.

"You are a genius, aren't you?"

The older cadet leaned forward.

"Think about it, though, Shawn. It's an airplane, right? Who's in charge of the air? The Air Force, right? Make sense?"

Shawn nodded.

"Yeah."

"Besides," River said, leaning back on his bed. "The Air Force is the best of all the services to be in. If I joined the Navy I'd probably end up on a ship somewhere, and as much as I like the water, I don't like big ships. If I joined the Army, I'd be marching everywhere I went, and that just doesn't sound fun – and don't even get me started on the joys of being a Marine!"

Shawn nodded. He knew a lot of Marines, and they were all good people, but he'd heard stories from them about their boot camp days, and what he'd heard had definitely told him he didn't want to be a Marine any more than River did.

"Why are you going into the Air Force?" River asked. "Why doesn't a genius kid like you go to MIT? Or Princeton, or Harvard?"

"Because I know a lot of Air Force officers, and I'm going to be like them, some day."

River nodded. That was as good a reason as any.

"What are you thinking of becoming? A scientist of some sort?"

"No. Well... maybe, if they want me to be. I'd rather do special ops, and stuff like that." What he was going to do was become an SGC member, but he couldn't tell River that.

"You're going to have to put on a few pounds."

Shawn smiled. He was fairly muscular for his age because of his weapons and self-defense training sessions with the Jaffa, and with Teal'c and Jack, but he was still about forty pounds lighter than River, who was fairly lanky for his age.

"I'll grow."

A bell rang out in the hall, and River and Shawn both got to their feet. The time for socializing was over, they had their first assembly with the other first year cadets and they didn't want to be late.

"Come on Shawn," River said, heading for the door. "We're not going to get to be more than floor moppers if we're late for our first assembly."

They left the room and joined the throngs in the hall that were all heading the same direction. Shawn followed in River's wake, hoping that the rest of his day was going to be as smooth as his initial introduction to his roommate.

He wasn't going to get that wish.