The Wave. Part 9

The next thing Laurie knew she was running down the hallway toward the exit doors at the end. It seemed to take forever to get there, and when she finally reached the double metal doors and banged her hip against the opening bar, they were locked!

In a panic, Laurie threw herself against the next set of doors. Miraculously they opened, and she flew out into the cool evening air, running and running.

It seemed as if she ran for a long time, and finally she lost her breath and had to slow down, clutching her books to her breast and breathing hard. She felt safer now.

David sat waiting in the pa.s.senger seat of Brian's van. They were parked near the all-night tennis courts because David knew that when Laurie came home from school after dark she always took this route, where the bright lights from the courts made her feel safe. For almost an hour now they had been sitting in the van. Brian was in the driver's seat, keeping his eye on the sideview mirror watching for Laurie, and whistling some song so out of tune that David had no idea what it was. David watched the tennis players and listened to the monotonous plunk-ka-plunk of tennis b.a.l.l.s being hit back and forth.

"Brian, can I ask you a question?" David said after a long while.

"What?"

"What are you whistling?"

Brian seemed surprised. " 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game,' " he said. Then he whistled a few more bars. Coming from his lips, the song seemed completely unrecognizable. "There, now can you tell?"

David nodded. "Sure, Brian, sure." He went back to watching the tennis players.

A moment later, Brian sat up in his seat. "Hey, here she comes."

David turned and looked down the block. Laurie was coming down the sidewalk, walking quickly. He reached for the door handle. "Okay, now just let me take care of this alone," he said, pulling the handle.

"Just as long as she understands," Brian said. "We're not playing around anymore."

"Sure, Brian," David said and got out of the van. Now Brian was starting to sound like Robert too.

He had to jog to catch up with her, all the while uncertain of how he should handle this. All he knew was that it was better that he do it than Brian. He reached her, but Laurie did not stop, and he had to walk quickly to keep up with her.

"Hey, Laurie, can't you wait up?" he asked. "I've got to talk to you. It's real important."

Laurie slowed down and glanced behind him.

"It's okay, n.o.body else is coming," David said.

Laurie stopped. David noticed she was breathing hard and clutching her books tightly.

"Well, David," she said. "I'm not used to seeing you alone. Where are your troops?"

David knew he had to ignore her antagonistic remarks and try to reason with her. "Look, Laurie, will you just listen to me for a minute, please?"

But Laurie didn't seem interested. "David, we said everything we had to say to each other the other day. I don't want to rehash it now, so just leave me alone."

Against his will, David felt himself getting mad. She wouldn't even listen. "Laurie, you've got to stop writing stuff against The Wave. You're causing all kinds of problems."

"The Wave is causing the problems, David."

"It is not," David insisted. "Look, Laurie, we want you with us, not against us."

Laurie shook her head. "Well, count me out. I told you, I quit. This is not a game anymore. People have been hurt."

She started to walk away, but David followed her. "That was an accident," he insisted. "Some guys just used The Wave as an excuse for beating that kid up. Don't you see? The Wave is still for the good of the whole. Why can't you see that, Laurie? It could be a whole new system. We could make it work."

"Not with me, you can't."

David knew if he didn't stop her she'd get away. It just wasn't fair that one person could ruin it for everyone else. He had to convince her. He had to! The next thing he knew, he had grabbed her arm.

"Let go of me!" Laurie struggled to get free, but David held her arm tightly.

"Laurie, you've got to stop," he said. It just wasn't fair.

"David, let go of my arm!"

"Laurie, stop writing those articles! Keep your mouth shut about The Wave! You're ruining it for everyone else!"

But Laurie kept resisting. "I will write and I will say anything that I want to, and you can't stop me!" she yelled at him.

Overcome with anger, David grabbed her other arm. Why did she have to be so stubborn? Why couldn't she see how good The Wave could be? "We can stop you, and we will!" he shouted at her.

But Laurie only struggled harder to get out of his grasp. "I hate you!" she cried. "I hate The Wave! I hate all of you!"

The words struck David like a hard slap in the face. Almost out of control, he screamed "Shut up!" and threw her down on the gra.s.s. Her books went flying as she fell roughly to the ground.

David instantly recoiled in shock at what he had done. Laurie lay still on the ground and he was filled with fear as he dropped to his knees and put his arms around her. "Jeez, Laurie, are you all right?"

Laurie nodded, but seemed unable to talk as sobs filled her throat.

David held her tightly. "G.o.d, I'm sorry," he whispered. He could feel her tremble and he wondered how on earth he could have done something so stupid. What could have made him want to hurt the girl, the one he really still loved. Laurie pushed herself up slightly and sat sobbing and gasping for breath. David could not believe it. He felt almost as if he were coming out of a trance. What had possessed him these last days that could cause him to do something so stupid? There he'd been, denying that The Wave could hurt anyone, and at the same time he'd hurt Laurie, his own girlfriend, in the name of The Wave!

It was crazy-but David knew that he'd been wrong. Anything that could make him do what he'd just done was wrong. It had to be.

Meanwhile, moving slowly down the street, Brian's van pa.s.sed them and disappeared into the darkness.

Later that night, Christy Ross went into the study where her husband was working. "Ben," she said firmly, "I'm sorry to interrupt you, but I've been thinking, and I have something important to say."

Ben leaned back in his chair and looked at his wife uneasily.

"Ben, you've got to end The Wave tomorrow," Christy told him. "I know how much this means to you and how important you think it is for your students. But I'm telling you it must end."

"How can you say that?" Ben asked.

"Because, Ben, if you don't end it I am convinced Princ.i.p.al Owens will," she told him. "And if he has to end it, I promise you your experiment will be a failure. I've been thinking all evening about what you've been trying to accomplish, Ben, and I think I'm beginning to understand. But did you ever consider, back when you began this experiment, what might happen if it didn't work? Did it ever occur to you that you're risking your reputation as a teacher? If this goes wrong, do you think parents are going to let their kids into your cla.s.sroom again?"

"Don't you think you're exaggerating?" Ben asked.

"No," Christy replied. "Did it ever occur to you that you've not only put yourself into jeopardy but me as well? Some people think that just because I'm your wife that somehow I'm involved in this Wave idiocy too. Does that seem fair, Ben? It breaks my heart that after two years at Gordon High you're in danger of ruining your job. You're going to end it tomorrow, Ben. You're going to go into Princ.i.p.al Owens and tell him that it's over."

"Christy, how can you tell me what to do?" Ben asked. "How can I possibly end it in one day and still do the students justice?"

"You have to think of something, Ben," Christy insisted. "You just have to."

Ben rubbed his forehead and thought about the next morning's meeting with Princ.i.p.al Owens. Owens was a good man, and open to new ideas and experiments, but now he had immense pressures on him. On one side parents and teachers were in arms over The Wave, and pressure was growing on the princ.i.p.al to step in and put a halt to it. On the other side there was only Ben Ross, pleading with him not to interfere, trying to explain that to stop The Wave abruptly could be a disaster for the students. So much effort had gone into it. To end The Wave without explanation would be like reading the first half of a novel and not finishing it. But Christy was right. Ben knew The Wave had to end. The important thing wasn't when it ended, but how. The students had to end it themselves, and they had to understand why. Otherwise the lesson, the pain, all that had gone into it, was for nothing.

"Christy," Ben said, "I know it should end, but I just don't see how."

His wife sighed wearily. "Are you saying that you're going to go into Princ.i.p.al Owens's office tomorrow morning and tell him that? That you know it should end but you don't know how? Ben, you're supposed to be The Wave's leader. You're the one they're supposed to follow blindly."

Ben did not appreciate the sarcasm in his wife's voice, but again he knew she was right. The students in The Wave had made him more of a leader than he had ever wished to be. But it was also true that he had not resisted. In fact, he had to admit that before the experiment had gone bad, he had enjoyed those fleeting moments of power. A crowded room full of students obeying his commands, the Wave symbol he'd created posted all over the school, even a bodyguard. He had read that power could be seductive, and now he had experienced it. Ben ran his hand through his hair. The members of The Wave were not the only ones who had to learn the lesson power taught. Their teacher did, as well.

"Ben?" Christy said.

"Yes, I know, I'm thinking," he replied. Wondering was more like it. Suppose there was something he could do tomorrow. Suppose he did something abrupt and final. Would they follow him? At once, Ben understood what he had to do. "Okay, Christy, I've got an idea."

His wife looked at him uncertainly. "Something you're sure will work?"

Ben shook his head. "No, but I hope it will," he said.

Christy nodded and looked at her watch. It was late and she was tired. She leaned over her husband and kissed him on the forehead. The skin was damp with perspiration. "You coming to bed?"

"Soon," he said.

After Christy went into the bedroom, Ben went over his plan again in his mind. It seemed sound and he stood up, determined to get some sleep. He was just shutting off the lights when the doorbell rang. Rubbing his eyes with weariness, Ross trudged to the front door.

"Who is it?"

"It's David Collins and Laurie Saunders, Mr. Ross."

Surprised, Ben pulled the door open. "What are you doing here?" he asked. "It's late."

"Mr. Ross, we've got to talk to you," David said. "It's real important."

"Well, come in and sit down," Ben said.

As David and Laurie entered the living room, Ben could see that both of them were shaken up. Had something even worse happened because of The Wave? G.o.d forbid. The two students sat down on the couch. David leaned forward.

"Mr. Ross, you've got to help us," he said, his voice filled with agitation.

"What is it?" Ben asked. "What's wrong?"

"It's The Wave," David said.

"Mr. Ross," said Laurie, "we know how important this is to you-but it's just gone too far."

Before Ross could even respond, David added, "It's taken over, Mr. Ross. You can't say anything against it. People are afraid to."

"The kids at school are scared," Laurie told him. "They're really scared. Not only to say anything against The Wave, but of what might happen to them if they don't go along with it."

Ben nodded. In a way, what these students were telling him relieved him of part of his concern about The Wave. If he did as Christy told him and thought back to the original goals of the experiment, then the fears Laurie and David spoke of confirmed that The Wave was a success. After all, The Wave had originally been conceived as a way to show these kids what life in n.a.z.i Germany might have been like. Apparently, in terms of fear and forced compliance, it had been an overwhelming success-too much of a success.

"You can't even have a conversation without wondering who's listening," Laurie told him.

Ben could only nod again. He recalled those students in his own history cla.s.ses who had condemned the Jews for not taking the n.a.z.i threat seriously, for not fleeing their homes and ghettos when rumors of the concentration camps and gas chambers first filtered back to them. Of course, Ross thought, how could any rational person believe such a thing? And who could have believed that a nice bunch of high school students like those at Gordon High could have become a fascist group called The Wave? Was it a weakness of man that made him want to ignore the darker side of his fellow human beings?

David yanked him from his thoughts. "Tonight I almost hurt Laurie because of The Wave," he said. "I don't know what came over me. But I do know that it's the same thing that's come over almost everyone who's in The Wave."

"You've got to stop it," Laurie urged him.

"I know," Ben said. "I will."

"What are you going to do, Mr. Ross?" David asked.

Ben knew he could not reveal his plan to Laurie and David. It was essential that the members of The Wave decide the matter for themselves, and for the experiment to be a true success, Ben could only present them with the evidence. If David or Laurie went to school the next day and told the students that Mr. Ross planned to end The Wave, the students would be biased. They might end it without really understanding why it had to end. Or worse, they might try and fight him, keeping The Wave alive despite its obvious destiny.

"David, Laurie," he said, "you have discovered for yourselves what the other members of The Wave have not yet learned. I promise you that tomorrow I will try to help them toward that discovery. But I have to do it my way, and I can only ask that you trust me. Can you do that?"

David and Laurie nodded uncertainly as Ben rose and showed them to the door. "Come on, it's too late for you kids to be out," he told them. As they went through the door, however, Ben had another thought. "Listen, do either of you know two students who have never been involved in The Wave? Two students who Wave members don't know and wouldn't miss?"

David considered for a moment. Amazing as it might be, almost everyone he knew in school had become a member of The Wave. But Laurie thought of two people. "Alex Cooper and Carl Block," she said. "They're on The Grapevine staff."

"Okay," Ben told them. "Now, I want both of you to go back to cla.s.s tomorrow and act as if everything is fine. Pretend we haven't talked, and don't tell anyone that you were here tonight or that you spoke to me. Can you do that?"

David nodded, but Laurie looked concerned. "I don't know, Mr. Ross."

But Ben cut her short. "Laurie, it is extremely important that we do it this way. You must trust me. Okay?"

Reluctantly Laurie agreed. Ben bade them good-bye, and she and David stepped into the dark.

CHAPTER 16.

The next morning in Princ.i.p.al Owens's office, Ben had to pull his handkerchief out of his pocket and pat the perspiration off his forehead. Across the desk, Princ.i.p.al Owens had just slammed his fist down. "d.a.m.n it, Ben! I don't care about your experiment. I've got teachers complaining, I've got parents calling me every five minutes wanting to know what the h.e.l.l's going on here, what the h.e.l.l are we doing with their kids. You think I can tell them it's an experiment? My G.o.d, man, you know that boy who was roughed up last week? His rabbi was here yesterday. The man spent two years in Auschwitz. Do you think he gives a d.a.m.n about your experiment?"

Ben sat up in his chair. "Princ.i.p.al Owens, I understand the pressure you're under. I know that The Wave went too far. I ..." Ben took a deep breath. "I realize now that I made a mistake. A history cla.s.s is not a science lab. You can't experiment with human beings. Especially high school students who aren't aware that they're part of an experiment. But for a moment let's forget that it was a mistake, that it went too far. Let's look at it right now. Right now there are two hundred students here who think The Wave is great. I can still teach them a lesson. All I need is the rest of the day, and I can teach them a lesson they will never forget."

Princ.i.p.al Owens looked at him skeptically. "And what do you expect me to tell their parents and the other teachers in the meantime?"

Ben patted his forehead with his handkerchief again. He knew he was taking a gamble, but what choice did he have? He had gotten them into this and he had to get them out. "Tell them that I promise it will all be over by tonight."

Princ.i.p.al Owens arched an eyebrow. "And exactly how do you intend to do that?"

It didn't take Ben long to outline his plan. Across the desk, Princ.i.p.al Owens tapped out his pipe and considered it. A long and uncomfortable silence followed. Finally he said, "Ben, I'm going to be absolutely straight with you. This Wave thing has made Gordon High look very bad, and I'm very unhappy about it. I'll let you have today. But I have to warn you: If it doesn't work, I'm going to have to ask you for your resignation."

Ben nodded. "I understand," he said.