“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.
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 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 pavement towards 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 quarrelled. 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 maths,” 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 sixteen stone 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.”