Ben Ross was having coffee in the faculty lounge when someone came in and told him Principal Owens wanted to see him in his office. Ross felt a tremor of nervousness. Had something gone wrong? If Owens wanted to see him, it had to be about The Wave.
Ross stepped out into the hall and started down towards the principal's office. On the way more than a dozen students paused to give him The Wave salute. He returned them and continued quickly, wondering what Owens was going to say. In one sense, if Owens was going to tell him that there had been complaints and that he should stop the experiment, Ross knew he would feel some relief. Honestly, he had never expected The Wave to spread this far. The news that kids in other classes, kids in other grades even, had joined The Wave still amazed him. He simply hadn't intended it to be anything like this.
And yet there was another consideration, the so-called losers in the class — Robert Billings, for example. For the first time in his life, Robert was an equal, a member, part of the group. No one was making fun of him any more, no one was giving him a hard time. And the change in Robert was indeed remarkable. Not only had bis appearance improved, but he was starting to contribute. For the first time he was an active member of his class. And it wasn't just history. Christy said she was noticing it in music too. Robert seemed like a new person. To end The Wave might mean returning Robert to the role of class creep and taking away the only chance he had.
And wouldn't ending the experiment now also cheat the other students who were taking part in it? Ben wondered. They would be left hanging without a chance to see where it would eventually lead them. And he would lose the chance to lead them there.
Ben abruptly stopped. Hey, wait a minute. Since when was he leading them anywhere? This was a classroom experiment, remember? An opportunity for his students to get a taste of what life in Nazi Germany might have been like. Ross smiled to himself. Let's not get carried away, he thought, and continued down the hall.
Principal Owens's door was open, and when he saw Ben Ross enter the ante-room, he motioned him in with a wave.
Ben was slightly confused. On the way down to the office he'd somehow convinced himself that Principal Owens was going to chew him out, but the old man appeared to be in a good mood.
Principal Owens was a towering man who stood over six feet four inches. His head was almost completely bald except for a few tufts of hair above either ear. His only other noteworthy feature was his pipe, always present, which protruded from his lips. He had a deep voice, and when he was angry he might instill instant religion in the most hardened atheist. But today it seemed as if Ben had nothing to fear.
Principal Owens sat behind his desk, his large black shoes propped up on one corner, and squinted slightly at Ben. "Say, Ben, that's a good-looking suit," he said. Owens himself had never been seen around Gordon High in less than a three-piece, even at a Saturday football game.
"Thank you, sir," Ben replied nervously.
Principal Owens smiled. "I can't recall seeing you in one before."
"Uh, yes, this is something new for me," Ben allowed.
One of the principal's eyebrows rose. "Wouldn't have anything to do with this Wave thing, would it?"
Ben had to clear his throat. "Well, yes it does, actually."
Principal Owens leaned forward. "Now, tell me, Ben, what this Wave thing is all about," he said. "You've got the school in a tizzy."
"Well, I hope it's a good tizzy," Ben Ross replied.
Principal Owens rubbed his chin. "From what I've heard it is. Have you heard differently?"
Ben knew he had to reassure him. He quickly shook his head. "No sir, I've heard nothing."
The principal nodded. "I'm all ears, Ben."
Ben took a deep breath and began. "It started several days ago in my senior history class. We were watching a film about the Nazis and ...
When he finished explaining The Wave, Ben noticed that Principal Owens looked less happy than before, but not as noticeably displeased as Ben had feared he might be. The principal removed his pipe from between his lips and tapped it on an ashtray. "I must say it's unusual, Ben. Are you sure that the students are not falling behind?"
"If anything, they're ahead," Ben replied.
"But there are students outside your class that are now involved with this," the principal observed.
"But there have been no complaints," Ben said. "In fact Christy says she's even noticed an improvement in her classes because of it." This was a slight exaggeration, Ben knew. But he also felt it was necessary because Owens was overreacting to The Wave.
"Still, Ben, these mottoes and this saluting bother me," the principal said.
"It shouldn't," Ben replied. "It's just part of the game. And also, Norm Schiller — "
"Yes, yes, I know," Owens said, cutting him short. "He was in here yesterday raving about this thing. He says it's literally turned that football team of his around. The way he was talking, Ben, you would have thought he'd just drafted six future Heisman Trophy winners. Frankly, I'd just like to see them beat Clarkstown on Saturday." The principal paused momentarily and then said, "But that's not what I'm concerned about, Ben. I'm concerned about the students. This Wave thing seems too open-ended for my liking. I know you haven't broken any rules, but there are limits."
"I'm completely aware of that," Ben insisted. "You have to understand that this experiment can't go any further than I let it go. The whole basis for The Wave is the idea of a group willing to follow their leader. And as long as I'm involved in this, I assure you it can't get out of hand."
Principal Owens refilled his pipe with fresh tobacco and lit it, for a moment disappearing behind a small cloud of smoke while he considered Ben's words. "Okay," he said. "To be perfectly frank about this, it's so different from anything we've ever had around here that I'm not sure what to think. I say, let's keep an eye on this thing, Ben. And keep your ears open too. Remember, Ben, this experiment, if that's what you want to call it, involves young, impressionable kids. Sometimes we forget that they are young and haven't developed the, uh, the judgement we hope they'll someday have. Sometimes they can take something too far if they're not watched. Understand?"
"Absolutely."
"You promise me I'm not going to have a parade of parents down here suddenly shouting that we're indoctrinating their kids with something?"
"I promise," Ben said.
Principal Owens nodded slightly. "Well, I can't say that I'm crazy about this, but you've never given me cause to doubt you before."
"And I won't now," Ben told him.