SuperFan Read Free Page A

Shawn,” his dad agreed. “Then I want you to try to enjoy your vacation.” He pointed toward his cell phone. “You know how even though I’m not a full-time soldier anymore, I’m still part of the army?”
    Shawn nodded, though he was starting to get a hollow feeling in his stomach. “That’s why you train for a weekend every month. It’s called the reserve, right?”
    â€œRight,” Sanford declared. “We reservists are here if the army needs us.” He hesitated. “Well, they decided they needed my unit. We’re being deployed. To Afghanistan. I’m sorry.”
    Deployed? To Afghanistan?
    â€œWhen do you leave?”
    â€œFriday.”
    Oh no. Shawn always knew this was possible, but it had never happened before.
    â€œWe’ll talk more later,” Carla told Shawn. “I’m sure you have a lot of questions.”
    His mother was right. Shawn had plenty of questions. “Will you have to write us letters by hand?”
    His dad’s laugh was genuine. “It’s not like in old movies. I’ll be able to e-mail at the base. Maybe even Skype. You’ll get so much e-mail you’ll be sick of me.”
    â€œI think that’s unlikely, Sanford,” his mother commented dryly as tears welled in her steel-gray eyes.
    I can’t cry. That’s not what Dad needs now, he told himself.
    Normally when Shawn was feeling down, he liked to play his guitar. But he didn’t want to wake Peter. So he told his folks that he was walking over to Alex’s and fled.
    Ten minutes later, Shawn was with Alex in the Garcias’ lovely family room. Though Alex lived close by, his house was a lot bigger than Shawn’s place. Alex’s dad ran a printing business while his mom—an amazing cook—did party catering.
    The Garcias were upset to learn that Sanford was being deployed. After promising to help Shawn’s mom any way that she could, Mrs. Garcia suggested that the best thing for Shawn to do was to keep things as normal as possible for Peter.
    â€œI can help, too!” Alex turned to his mom. “But can we use the computer now? To find out the rules for SuperFan?”
    â€œYou haven’t looked them up?” Shawn was surprised.
    â€œThe Internet’s been down since last night! It’s the worst! I still can’t believe you were there. It was the best Raw ever! Rey Mysterio’s gonna mess up CM Punk when he comes back. Maybe if I’m the SuperFan, I’ll be there for it!” Alex was his usual mass of enthusiasm.
    Mrs. Garcia gave Alex permission to log on, so Alex went to the computer while she sat with her laptop on the couch.
    â€œOh yeah!” Alex exclaimed. “We’re back online! Whoa! Check out the WWE website! It’s all SuperFan, all the time!”
    Shawn peered over Alex’s shoulder. Alex wasn’t kidding. The WWE home page featured a continuous video replay of Mr. McMahon’s big announcement.
    â€œWhat are the rules?” Shawn asked. “Can Peter enter?”
    Alex clicked on a button and shook his head. “Nope. Gotta be between eleven and thirteen.”
    Shawn frowned. Peter would be bummed. Well, maybe next year.
    â€œThere’s an online application a parent needs to submit. They want you to upload a video explaining why you should be chosen. They’re bringing four finalists to Atlanta for WrestleMania weekend in April.” Alex turned to Shawn. “It’s a total piece of cake! I should definitely win!”
    â€œCan I see that?” Shawn asked.
    â€œSure! You aren’t thinking about entering, are you?”
    Alex got up. Shawn leaned in toward the monitor to check out the rules. You needed to be strong, dedicated, and a person who cared about your community. If you were a finalist, you’d be assigned a mentor from WWE who would help you prepare for the finals.
    â€œI’m so winning this,” Alex said