He turned back to the class. “Community is the bond between people who work and struggle together for a common goal. It's like building a barn with your neighbours.”
A few students in the room chuckled. But David knew what Mr Ross was saying. It was what he'd thought about yesterday after class. It was the kind of team spirit the football team needed.
“It's the feeling that you're part of something that's more important than yourself,” Mr Ross was telling them. “You're a movement, a team, a cause. You're committed to something —"
“I think we ought to be committed all right,” someone mumbled, but the near-by students hushed him.
“Like discipline,” Mr Ross continued, “to understand community fully you have to experience it and participate in it. From now on, our two mottoes will be, “Strength Through Discipline” and “Strength Through Community”. Everyone, repeat our mottoes.”
Around the room, students rose beside their desks and recited the slogans: “Strength Through Discipline, Strength Through Community.”
A few students, including Laurie and Brad, did not join them, but sat uncomfortably in their chairs as Mr Ross had the class repeat the mottoes again. Finally Laurie rose, and then Brad. Now the entire class stood beside their desks.
“What we need now is a symbol for our new community,” Mr Ross told them. He turned back to the board and, after a moment's thought, drew a circle with the outline of a wave inside it. “This will be our symbol. A wave is a pattern of change. It has movement, direction, and impact. From now on, our community, our movement will be known as The Wave.” He paused and looked at the class standing at stiff attention, accepting everything he told them. “And this will be our salute,” he said, cupping his right hand in the shape of a wave, then tapping it against his left shoulder and holding it upright. “Class, give the salute,” he ordered.
The class gave the salute. Some hit their right shoulders instead of their left. Others forgot to hit their shoulders entirely. “Again,” Ross ordered, making the salute himself. He repeated the exercise until everyone had it right.
“All right,” their teacher said when they'd got it. Once again the class could feel the resurgence of power and unity that had overwhelmed them the day before. “This is our salute and our salute only,” he told them. “Whenever you see another Wave member, you will salute. Robert, salute and give our mottoes.”
Standing stiffly beside his seat, Robert performed the salute and replied, “Mr Ross, Strength Through Discipline, Strength Through Community.”
“Very good,” Ben said. “Peter, Amy, and Eric, salute and recite our motto with Robert.”
The four students obediently saluted and chanted, “Strength Through Discipline, Strength Through Community.”
“Brian, Andrea, and Laurie,” Mr Ross commanded. “Join them and repeat.”
Now seven students joined in the chant, then fourteen, then twenty, until the whole class was saluting and chanting loudly in unison. “Strength Through Discipline, Strength Through Community.” Like a regiment, Ben thought, just like a regiment.
In the gym after school, David and Eric sat on the floor in their football practice jerseys. They were a little early for practice and were having a heated debate.
“I think it's dumb,” Eric said as he tied the laces on his cleats. “It's just a game in history class, that's all.”
“But that doesn't mean it couldn't work,” David insisted. “What do you think we learned it for, anyway? To keep it a secret? I'm telling you, Eric, this is just what the team needs.”
“Well, you're gonna have to convince Coach Schiller of that,” Eric said. “And I'm not going to tell him.”
“What are you scared of?” David asked. “You think Mr Ross is gonna punish me because I tell a couple of people about The Wave?”
Eric shrugged. “No, man. I think they're gonna laugh.”
Brian came out of the locker room and joined them on the floor.
“Hey,” David said, “what do you think of us trying to get the rest of the team into The Wave?”
Brian tugged at his shoulder pads and thought about it. “You think The Wave could stop that sixteen stone linebacker from Clarkstown?” he asked. “I swear, that's all I think about. I keep picturing me calling for the ball and then this thing appears in front of me, this giant thing in a Clarkstown uniform. It steps on my centre, it squashes my guards. It's so big I can't go left, I can't go right, I can't throw over it ...” Brian rolled on his back on the floor and pretended someone was bearing down on him. “It just keeps coming and coming. Ahhhhhhhhhh!”
Eric and David laughed, and Brian sat up. “I'll do anything,” he told them. “Eat my Wheaties, join The Wave, do my homework. Anything to stop that guy.”
More players had gathered around them, including a junior named Deutsch, who was the second-string quarterback behind Brian. Everyone on the team knew that Deutsch wanted nothing more in the world than to steal Brian's position from him. As a result, the two of them didn't get along.
“I hear you say you're afraid of the Clarkstown team?” Deutsch asked Brian. “I'll take your place, man, just say the word.”
“They let you into the game and we'll have no chance at all,” Brian told him.
Deutsch sneered. “The only reasons you're first-string is ’cause you're a senior,” he said.
Still sitting on the gym floor, Brian gazed up at the junior. “Man, you are the most conceited bag of no talent I've ever seen,” he said.
“Oh yeah, look who's talking,” Deutsch snarled back.
The next thing David knew, Brian had jumped to his feet and had his fists up. David lunged between the two quarterbacks.
“That's just what I was talking about!” he yelled as he pushed them apart. “We're supposed to be a team. We're supposed to support each other. The reason we've been so bad is because all we've been doing is fighting with each other.”
More football players were in the gym now. “What's he talking about?” one of them asked.
David turned. “I'm talking about unity. I'm talking about discipline. We have to start acting like a team. Like we have a common goal. Your job on this team isn't to steal another guy's position. Your job is to help this team win.”
“I could help this team win,” Deutsch said. “All Coach Schiller's got to do is make me the first-string quarterback.”
“No, man!” David yelled at him. “A bunch of self-serving individuals don't make a team. You know why we've done so bad this year? Because we're twenty-five one-man teams all wearing the same Gordon High uniforms. You want to be first-string quarterback on a team that doesn't win? Or do you want to be second-string on a team that does win?”
Deutsch shrugged.
“I'm tired of losing,” said another player.
“Yeah,” said someone else. “It's a drag. This school doesn't even take us seriously any more.”
“I'd give up my position and be a waterboy if it meant winning a game,” said a third.
“Well, we could win,” said David. “I'm not saying we'll be able to go out and destroy Clarkstown on Saturday, but if we start trying to be a team, I bet we could win a few games this year.”
Most of the members of the football team were there by this time, and as David looked around at their faces he could see that they were interested.
“Okay,” said one. “What do we do?”
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 hell, David thought. “Okay, all I know is you gotta start by learning the mottoes. And this is the salute...”