Free The Wave by Todd Strasser

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 gotten into The Wave still amazed him. He simply hadn’t intended it to be anything like this.
    And yet there was another consideration, theso-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 anymore, no one was giving him a hard time. And the change in Robert was indeed remarkable. Not only had his 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 anteroom, 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 stoodover 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