The Wave. Part 4

David hesitated for a moment. What they could do was The Wave. But who was he to tell them? He'd only learned of it the day before himself. Suddenly he felt someone nudging him.

"Tell them," Eric whispered. "Tell 'em about The Wave."

What the h.e.l.l, David thought. "Okay, all I know is you gotta start by learning the mottos. And this is the salute ..."

CHAPTER 7.

That evening Laurie Saunders told her parents about her last two days of history cla.s.s. The Saunders family was sitting at the dining room table finishing dinner. Through most of the meal, Laurie's father had given them a stroke-by-stroke description of the 78 he'd shot in golf that afternoon. Mr. Saunders ran a division of a large semi-conductor company. Laurie's mother said that she didn't mind his pa.s.sion for golf because on the course he managed to get out all the pressures and frustrations of his job. She said she couldn't explain how he did it, but as long as he came home in a good mood, she wasn't going to argue.

Neither was Laurie, although listening to her father talk about his golf game sometimes bored her to death. It was better that he was easy-going, rather than a worry-wart like her mother, who was probably the brightest and most perceptive woman Laurie had ever encountered. She practically ran the county's League of Women Voters by herself and was so politically astute that aspiring politicians seeking local offices were always asking her to advise them.

For Laurie, her mother was lots of fun when things were going well. She was full of ideas, and you could talk to her for hours. But other times, when Laurie was upset about something or was having a problem, her mother was murder-there was no way to hide anything from her. And once Laurie had admitted what the difficulty was, she wouldn't leave her alone.

When Laurie started telling them about The Wave at dinner, it was mostly because she couldn't stand listening to her father talk about golf for another minute. She could tell her mother was bored too. For the last quarter hour Mrs. Saunders had been scratching a wax stain out of the tablecloth with her fingernail.

"It was incredible," Laurie was saying about the cla.s.s. "Everyone was saluting and repeating the motto. You couldn't help but get caught up in it. You know, really wanting to make it work. Feeling all that energy building around you."

Mrs. Saunders stopped scratching the tablecloth and looked at her daughter. "I don't think I like it, Laurie. It sounds too militaristic to me."

"Oh, Mom," Laurie said, "you always take things the wrong way. It's nothing like that. Honest, you'd just have to be there feeling the positive energy in the cla.s.s to really get what's going on."

Mr. Saunders agreed. "To tell you the truth, I'm for whatever will make these kids pay attention to anything these days."

"And that's what it's really doing, Mom," Laurie said. "Even the bad kids are into it. You know Robert Billings, the cla.s.s creep? Even he's part of a group. No one's picked on him for two whole days. Tell me that isn't positive."

"But you're supposed to be learning history," Mrs. Saunders argued. "Not how to be part of a group."

"Well, you know," her husband said, "this country was built by people who were part of a group-the Pilgrims, the Founding Fathers. I don't think it's wrong for Laurie to be learning how to cooperate. If I could get some more cooperation down at the plant instead of this constant back-biting and bickering and everyone trying to cover his own you-know-what, we wouldn't be behind in production this year."

"I didn't say that it was wrong to cooperate," Mrs. Saunders replied. "But still, people have to do things in their own way. You talk about the greatness of this country and you're talking about people who weren't afraid to act as individuals."

"Mom, I really think you're taking this the wrong way," Laurie said. "Mr. Ross has just found a way to get everybody involved. And we're still doing our homework. It's not like we've forgotten about history."

But her mother was not to be appeased. "That's all very well and good. But it just doesn't sound like the right thing for you, Laurie. Babe, we've raised you to be an individual."

Laurie's father turned to his wife. "Midge, don't you think you're taking all this a little too seriously? A little bit of community spirit is a terrific thing for these kids."

"That's right, Mom," Laurie said, smiling. "Haven't you always said that I was a little too independent?"

Mrs. Saunders was not amused. "Honey, just remember that the popular thing is not always the right thing."

"Oh, Mom," Laurie said, annoyed that her mother would not see her side of the argument at all. "Either you're being stubborn or you just don't understand this at all."

"Really, Midge," Mr. Saunders said. "I'm sure Laurie's history teacher knows exactly what he's doing. I don't see why you should make this into a big deal."

"You don't think it's dangerous to allow a teacher to manipulate students like that?" Mrs. Saunders asked her husband.

"Mr. Ross isn't manipulating us," Laurie said. "He's one of my best teachers. He knows what he's doing, and as far as I'm concerned what he's doing is for the cla.s.s's good. I wish some of my other teachers were as interesting."

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 a.s.signment."

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 ch.o.r.es around their house-cooking, cleaning, and running errands. That afternoon Christy had to take her car into the shop to get the m.u.f.fler replaced, so Ben had agreed that he'd cook. But after that history cla.s.s 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 cla.s.s. 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 cla.s.s."

"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 cla.s.s-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.

Both 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 soph.o.m.ore, he used to walk down her street on the way to school every morning, hoping that he would pa.s.s 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 pa.s.sed 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 pa.s.s, 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 cla.s.s 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 cla.s.s."

"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 compet.i.tive about grades and cla.s.s 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 cla.s.s 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 cla.s.s 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 pa.s.sing 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 cla.s.s, "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. Cla.s.s, do you believe in The Wave?"

There was a split-second hesitation, and then the cla.s.s 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 cla.s.s 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 cla.s.s, 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 cla.s.s 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.