The Wave (6 page)

Laurie’s mother seemed ready to keep arguing, but her husband changed the subject. “Where’s David tonight?” he asked. “Isn’t he coming over?” David often came over in the evening, usually on the pretense of studying with Laurie. But inevitably he’d wind up in the den with Mr. Saunders talking about sports or engineering. Since David hoped to study engineering just as Mr. Saunders
had, they had lots to talk about. Mr. Saunders had also played high school football. Mrs. Saunders had once told Laurie that it was surely a match made in heaven.

Laurie shook her head. “He’s home studying tomorrow’s history assignment.”

Mr. Saunders looked surprised. “David studying? Now
there’s
something to be concerned about.”

Because Ben and Christy Ross both taught full-time at the high school, they had grown accustomed to sharing many of the after-school chores around their house—cooking, cleaning, and running errands. That afternoon Christy had to take her car into the shop to get the muffler replaced, so Ben had agreed that he’d cook. But after that history class he felt too preoccupied to bother cooking. Instead he stopped at the Chinese take-out place on the way home and picked up some eggrolls and egg foo yung.

When Christy got home around dinnertime, she found the table not covered with plates for dinner, but with books, again. Looking over the brown paper take-out bags on the kitchen counter, she asked, “You call this dinner?”

Ben looked up from the table. “I’m sorry, Chris. I’m just so preoccupied with this class. And I’ve got so much to do to prepare for it, I didn’t want to take time to cook.”

Christy nodded. It wasn’t as if he did this every time it was his turn to cook. She could forgive him this time. She started unpacking the food. “So how
is your experiment going, Dr. Frankenstein? Have your monsters turned on you yet?”

“On the contrary,” her husband replied. “Most of them are actually turning into human beings!”

“You don’t say,” said Christy.

“I happen to know that they’re all keeping up on their reading,” Ben said. “Some of them are even reading ahead. It’s as if they suddenly love being prepared for class.”

“Or they’re suddenly afraid of being unprepared,” his wife observed.

But Ben ignored her comment. “No, I really think they’ve improved. At least, they’re behaving better.”

Christy shook her head. “These can’t be the same kids I have for music.”

“I’m telling you,” her husband said, “it’s amazing how much more they like you when you make decisions for them.”

“Sure, it means less work for
them
. They don’t have to think for themselves,” Christy said. “But now stop reading and clear some of those books away so we can eat.”

As Ben made room on the kitchen table, Christy set the food out. When Ben stood up Christy thought he was going to help her, but instead he started pacing around the kitchen, deep in thought. Christy went on getting the meal ready, but she too was thinking about The Wave. There was something about it that bothered her, something about the tone of her husband’s voice when he spoke about his class—as if they were now better students than the rest of the school. As she sat
down at the table she said, “How far do you plan to push this, Ben?”

“I don’t know,” Ross answered. “But I think it could be fascinating to see.”

Christy watched her husband pace around the kitchen, lost in thought. “Why don’t you sit down?” she said. “Your egg foo yung’s going to get cold.”

“You know,” her husband said as he came to the table and sat down, “the funny thing is, I feel myself getting caught up in it too. It’s contagious.”

Christy nodded. That was obvious. “Maybe you’re becoming a guinea pig in your own experiment,” she said. Although she made it sound like a joke, she was hoping he’d take it as a warning.

CHAPTER 8

B
oth David and Laurie lived within walking distance of Gordon High. David’s route didn’t necessarily lead past Laurie’s house, but ever since tenth grade he’d always gone out of his way. When he first noticed her, as a sophomore, he used to walk down her street on the way to school every morning, hoping that he would pass her house just as she was leaving for school. At first he managed to run into her only about once a week. But as the weeks passed and they got to know each other, he began to catch her more frequently until, by the spring, they walked together almost every day. For a long time David thought this was just a matter of luck and good timing. It never occurred to him that from the beginning Laurie had waited at her window, watching for him. At first she had only pretended to “run into” him once a week. Later she “ran into” him more often.

When David picked Laurie up to walk with her to school the next morning, he was bursting with
brainstorms. “I’m telling you, Laurie,” he said as they walked along a sidewalk toward school. “This is just what the football team needs.”

“What the football team needs,” Laurie told him, “is a quarterback who can pass, a running back who doesn’t fumble, a couple of linebackers who aren’t afraid to tackle, an end who—”

“Stop it,” David said irritably. “I’m serious. I got the team into it yesterday. Brian and Eric helped me. The guys really responded to it. I mean, it’s not like we improved in only one practice, but I could feel it. I could really feel the team spirit. Even Coach Schiller was impressed. He said we were like a new team.”

“My mother says it sounds like brainwashing to her,” Laurie said.

“What?”

“She says Mr. Ross is manipulating us.”

“She’s crazy,” David said. “How could she know? And besides, what do you care what your mother says? You know she worries about everything.”

“I didn’t say I agreed with her,” Laurie said.

“Well, you didn’t say you disagreed with her either,” David said.

“I was just telling you what she said,” Laurie replied.

David wouldn’t let it drop. “How does she know, anyway? She can’t possibly understand what The Wave is about unless she’s been in class to see it work. Parents always think they know everything!”

Laurie suddenly felt an urge to disagree with
him, but she restrained herself. She didn’t want to start a fight with David over something so petty. She hated it when they quarreled. Besides, for all she knew, The Wave might be just what the football team needed. They certainly needed
something
. She decided to change the subject. “Did you find help for calculus?”

David shrugged. “Naw, the only kids who know anything are in my class.”

“So why not ask one of them?”

“No way,” David said. “I don’t want any of them to know I’m having trouble.”

“Why not?” Laurie asked. “I’m sure someone would help you.”

“Of course they would,” David said. “But I don’t want their help.”

Laurie sighed. It was true that lots of kids at school were competitive about grades and class standing. But few took it as far as David did. “Well,” she said, “I know Amy didn’t say anything at lunch, but if you can’t find anyone else she could probably help you.”

“Amy?”

“She’s incredibly smart in math,” Laurie explained. “I bet you could give her your problem and she’d have it figured out in ten minutes.”

“But I asked her at lunch,” David said.

“She was just being shy,” Laurie said. “I think she likes Brian and she just doesn’t want to intimidate him by seeming too brainy.”

David laughed. “I don’t think she has to worry, Laurie. The only way she could intimidate him was
if she weighed two hundred pounds and wore a Clarkstown uniform.”

When the students arrived in class that day, there was a large poster in the back of the room with a blue wave symbol on it. They found Mr. Ross dressed differently than usual. Where before he’d come to class in casual clothes, today he wore a blue suit, white shirt, and a tie. The students went quickly to their seats as their teacher walked up and down the aisles passing out small yellow cards.

Brad nudged Laurie. “It’s not time for report cards,” he whispered.

Laurie stared at the card she’d received. “It’s a Wave membership card,” she whispered back.

“What?” Brad hissed.

“All right,” Mr. Ross slapped his hands together loudly. “No talking.”

Brad sat up straight in his seat. But Laurie understood his surprise. Membership cards? It must have been a joke. Meanwhile, Mr. Ross had finished distributing the cards and stood in the front of the room.

“Now you will all have membership cards,” Mr. Ross announced. “If you turn them over you will find that some of them have been marked with a red
X
. If you have a red
X
you are to be a monitor, and you will report directly to me any members of The Wave who do not obey our rules.”

Around the room students were scrutinizing their cards and turning them over to see if they had a red
X
. Those who had them, like Robert and
Brian, were smiling. Those who didn’t, like Laurie, seemed less pleased.

Laurie raised her hand.

“Yes, Laurie,” Ben said.

“Uh, what’s the point of this?” Laurie asked.

There was a silence around the room and Ben did not answer right away. Then he said, “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

“Oh, right.” Laurie got up and stood next to her desk. “Mr. Ross, what’s the point of these cards?”

Ben had expected someone to question him on the cards. The reason for them would not be apparent immediately. For now he said, “It’s just an example of how a group might monitor itself.”

Laurie had no other questions, so Ben turned to the blackboard and added another word to “Strength Through Discipline, Strength Through Community.” Today’s word was “Action.”

“Now that we understand Discipline and Community,” he told the class, “Action is our next lesson. Ultimately, discipline and community are meaningless without action. Discipline gives you the right to action. A disciplined group with a goal can take action to achieve it. They
must
take action to achieve it. Class, do you believe in The Wave?”

There was a split-second hesitation, and then the class rose in unison and answered in what seemed like a single voice. “Mr. Ross, yes!”

Mr. Ross nodded. “Then you must take action! Never be afraid to act on what you believe. As The Wave you must act together like a well-oiled machine. Through hard work and allegiance to each
other, you will learn faster and accomplish more. But only if you support one another, and only if you work together and obey the rules, can you ensure the success of The Wave.”

As he spoke, the class members stood beside their desks at attention. Laurie Saunders stood with them, but she did not feel the high energy and unity she’d felt on previous days. In fact, today there was something about the class, something about their singlemindedness and absolute obedience to Mr. Ross that she would almost describe as creepy.

“Be seated,” Mr. Ross ordered, and instantly the class sat. Their teacher continued his lesson. “When we first began The Wave a few days ago I felt that some of you were actually competing to give the right answers and to be better members than others. From now on I want this to end. You are not competing against each other, you are working together for a common cause. You must conceive of yourselves as a team, a team of which you are all members. Remember, in The Wave you are all equals. No one is more important or more popular than anyone else and no one is to be excluded from the group. Community means equality within the group.

“Now your first action as a team will be to actively recruit new members. To become a member of The Wave, each new student must demonstrate knowledge of our rules and pledge strict obedience to them.”

David smiled as Eric looked over at him and winked. This was what he’d needed to hear. There
was nothing wrong with turning other kids on to The Wave. It was for the good of everybody. Especially the football team.

Mr. Ross had concluded his talk on The Wave. He intended to spend the rest of the period reviewing the assignment he’d given the class the night before. But suddenly a student named George Snyder was raising his hand.

“Yes, George.”

George sprang from his seat to attention by his desk. “Mr. Ross, for the first time I feel like I’m part of something,” he announced. “Something great.”

Around the room, startled students stared at George. Feeling the eyes of the class upon him, George began to sink back into his chair. But then Robert suddenly stood.

“Mr. Ross,” he said proudly, “I know just how George feels. It’s like being born again.”

No sooner had he returned to his seat than Amy stood. “George’s right, Mr. Ross. I feel the same way.”

David was pleased. He knew that what George had done was corny, but then Robert and Amy had done it too, just so George wouldn’t feel foolish and alone. That’s what was good about The Wave. They supported each other. Now he stood up and said, “Mr. Ross, I’m proud of The Wave.”

This sudden outburst of testimonials surprised Ben. He was determined to get on to the day’s classwork, but suddenly he knew he had to go along with the class a little longer. Almost subconsciously he sensed how much they wanted him to
lead them, and it was something he felt he could not deny.

“Our salute!” he ordered. Around the room students jumped to attention beside their desks and gave The Wave salute. The mottos followed: “Strength Through Discipline, Strength Through Community, Strength Through Action!”

Mr. Ross was picking up his class notes when the students burst forth again, this time giving the salute and chanting their motto without prompting. Then silence fell over the room. Mr. Ross gazed at the students in wonderment. The Wave was no longer just an idea or a game. It was a living movement in his students. They
were
The Wave now, and Ben realized that they could act on their own without him if they wanted. That thought could have been frightening, but Ben was confident that he had control as their leader. The experiment was simply becoming much more interesting.

At lunch that day all The Wave members who were in the cafeteria sat at a single long table. Brian, Brad, Amy, Laurie, and David were there. At first Robert Billings seemed tentative about joining them, but when David saw him he insisted he sit at the table, telling him they were all part of The Wave now.