Part 9 (1/2)

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?”