Читаем The Wave полностью

"I see," said Laurie. She looked around at the rest of The Grapevines staff. "I suppose the rest of you have been too busy hopping around the globe to get anything written as well."

"I went to the movies, "Jeanie said.

"Did you write a review?" Laurie asked.

"No, it was too good," she replied.

"Too good?"

"It's no fun writing reviews of good movies," she said.

"Yeah," said Alex, the globe-hopping record reviewer. "It's no fun doing a review of a good movie because you can't say anything bad about it. The only time it's fun to review something is when it's bad. Then you can tear it to shreds, he, he, he." Alex started rubbing his hands together as he went into his mad scientist routine. Alex had the best mad scientist routine in school. He also did a great imitation of a wind surfer in a hurricane.

"We need stories for the paper," Laurie said resolutely. "Doesn't anyone have any ideas?"

"They got a new school bus," someone said.

"Whoopee!"

"I heard that Mr Gabondi's going on sabbatical next year."

"Maybe he won't come back."

"Some kid in the tenth grade put his fist through a window yesterday. He was trying to prove that you could punch a hole in a window and not cut yourself."

"Did he do it?"

"Nope, got twelve stitches."

"Hey, wait a minute," said Carl. "What about this Wave thing? Everyone wants to know what it is."

"Aren't you in Ross's history class, Laurie?" another staff member asked.

"That's probably the biggest story in school right now," said a third.

Laurie nodded. She was aware that The Wave was worth a story, and maybe a big story at that. A couple of days ago it had even occurred to her that something like The Wave was probably just what the sluggish, disorganized staff of The Grapevine itself needed. But she had set the idea aside. She couldn't even explain her decision consciously. It was just that creepy feeling she'd begun to get, the feeling that maybe they should be careful with The Wave. So far she'd seen it do some good in Mr Ross's class and David said he thought it was helping the football team. But still she was cautious.

"Well, what about it, Laurie?" someone asked.

"The Wave?" Laurie said.

"How come you haven't assigned that story to us?" Alex asked. "Or are you just saving the good ones for yourself?"

"I don't know if anyone knows enough about it to write about it yet," Laurie said.

"What do you mean? You're in The Wave, aren't you?" Alex asked.

"Well, yes I am," Laurie replied. "But I still ... I still don't know."

A couple of the staff members scowled. "Well, I think The Grapevine still should have a story reporting that it exists, at least," Carl said. "I mean, a lot of kids are wondering what it is."

Laurie nodded. "Okay, you're right. I'll try to explain what it is. But in the meantime, I want you all to do something. Since we still have a few days before the paper has to come out. Try to find out everything you can about what kids think of The Wave."

Ever since the night she had first discussed The Wave with her mother and father at dinner, Laurie had purposely avoided the subject at home. It didn't seem worth creating any more hassles, especially with her mother, who could find something to worry about in everything Laurie did, whether it was going out late with David, chewing on a pen, or The Wave. Laurie just hoped her mother would forget about it. But that night while she was studying in her room her mother knocked on the door. "Babe, can I come in?"

"Sure, Mom."

The door opened and Mrs Saunders stepped in, wearing a yellow terrycloth bathrobe and slippers. The skin around her eyes looked greasy, and Laurie knew she'd been putting wrinkle cream on.

"How're the crow's feet, Mom?" she asked in good- natured humour.

Mrs Saunders smiled wryly at her daughter. "Some day," she said, wagging a finger, "some day you won't think it's so funny." She walked over to the desk and peered over her daughter's shoulders at the book she was reading. "Shakespeare?"

"What'd you expect?" Laurie asked.

"Well, anything except The Wave," Mrs Saunders said, sitting down on her daughter's bed.

Laurie turned to look at her. "What do you mean, Mom?"

"Only that I met Elaine Billings at the supermarket today, and she told me Robert is a completely new person."

"Was she worried?" Laurie asked.

"No, she wasn't, but I am," Mrs Saunders said. "You know, they've been having problems with him for years. Elaine has talked to me frequently about it. She's been very worried."

Laurie nodded.

"So she's ecstatic about this sudden change," Mrs Saunders said. "But somehow I don't trust it. Such a dramatic personality change. It almost sounds like he's joined a cult or something."

  "What do you mean?"

"Laurie, if you study the types of people who join these cults, they're almost always people who are unhappy with themselves and their lives. They look at the cult as a way of changing, of starting over, of literally being born again. How else do you explain the change in Robert?"

"But what's wrong with that, Mom?"

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