The Wednesday Wars

May is Atomic Bomb Awareness Month. During the morning announcements, Mrs. Sidman notes that since they live very close to New York City, which would be a major target for a bomb, students must follow drill procedures exactly. The siren goes off on many afternoons, and Mrs. Baker instructs the students to sit hunched under their desks quietly in the dark for 18 minutes. Holling notes that after 18 minutes, in the event of a bomb, most of the truly toxic and dangerous stuff would've passed by, burning everything but the carefully scrunched students.

When Mrs. Sidman praises Mrs. Baker's class, Holling thinks it's kind of comforting. He notes that the eighth grade cross-country runners certainly need comfort, as they're still upset over Holling's win. They put shaving cream in his locker and hang his clothes from the ceiling. Holling wonders if eighth graders have a gene that switches on when they get to that grade that makes them jerks, and thinks that Hamlet is very similar to them. Hamlet, according to Holling, wasn't smart enough to listen to the ghost's warning.

On May 3, Holling's dad opens up the Home Town Chronicle to discover that Kowalski and Associates is going to renovate the Yankee Stadium, a multi-million, three-year job. His dad concentrates on his lima beans during dinner. When Heather points out that lima beans have killed lab rats, his dad remarks that she's obviously learning more than enough at home and doesn't need to attend Columbia. He declares that she'll go to Columbia when lima beans fly, so she promptly throws one.

Holling's dad buys a new Ford Mustang the next day. Holling thinks he bought it to comfort himself. Every night after the news, he takes Holling's mother for a drive, and leaves it parked in the driveway so Chit can't park his VW bug there during the day. Holling wonders if the car was actually any comfort, though, when Heather leaves for California to "find herself." Supper that night is quiet, and Holling's mother doesn't cook lima beans. His dad rages that he'll never help Holling's sister, and running away isn't helping his reputation or his chance to get Chamber of Commerce Businessman of 1968. That night, Holling's parents don't go for a drive. Holling wonders what it's like for his sister.

The Perfect House becomes quiet, and Holling's dad stops watering the azaleas. His mother stops cooking lima beans, and they all stop talking. Holling describes the silence as being very similar to what happens in Hamlet. Holling finds Hamlet boring and slow, so he starts skipping over the boring monologues. Meryl Lee finds this a questionable strategy, but Holling is so convinced of his genius he even admits his reading strategy to Mrs. Baker. She insists there are no boring parts in Shakespeare and tells him to read it again.

The next afternoon, a bomb siren goes off again. As everyone scrunches under their desks, Danny snippily asks Mrs. Baker why she isn't under her desk. Holling explains that Danny's attitude is actually pure terror regarding his upcoming bar mitzvah. He's inconsolable about it and insists that his family will shun him if he messes up even one word. Meryl Lee, Mai Thi, and Holling decide to help Danny by spending every lunch recess listening to him practice his readings, even though they don't understand the Hebrew.

The bomb sirens go off again one Wednesday afternoon. Holling folds himself up under his desk, and Mrs. Baker declares that this is ridiculous. Holling asks Mrs. Baker if she'd call him "Holling" rather than "Mr. Hoodhood," as it sounds like she's talking to his dad. Mrs. Baker sits down at Danny's desk, and Holling explains that he doesn't want to become his dad yet. Mrs. Baker says she saw Holling's drawing and declares he has "the soul of an architect." She suggests that Holling is afraid he won't get the chance to decide for himself whether he even wants to be an architect.

Mrs. Baker declares the bomb drill ridiculous again. She heads to the Coat Room and Holling suddenly hears a crash: the crock of cider from Thanksgiving, which has been fermenting since then, falls and splatters everywhere. Mrs. Baker sends Holling to fetch Mr. Vendleri, who cries that they can't stay in a classroom that smells like a brewery. Mrs. Baker insists that they must go on a field trip then to survey "points of architectural interest."

Mrs. Baker drives to the north side of town, where she points out a Quaker meetinghouse from 1676 that was later used as a station on the Underground Railroad. She points out the first jail on Long Island and a clapboard building where British soldiers stayed during the American Revolution. At Temple Emmanuel, she explains that the temple is the fourth built on the same site, and the ark holding the Torah survived every fire that destroyed the temples. Finally, she points out the first abolitionist school, which helped end slavery through education. At that, Holling marvels that he didn't know buildings could hold so much in them. He feels as though he's seeing his town for the first time, and he feels the weight of the history around him.

When they pass Saint Adelbert's, Holling suggests they go in. He's never been in a Catholic church before, and he's struck by the fact that people have been praying here for a hundred years. He asks Mrs. Baker if she orchestrated Kowalski and Associates getting the Yankees Stadium job. She refuses to answer. Holling asks if an atomic bomb drops, if everything will be gone. Mrs. Baker pauses and says that's true, and she agrees when Holling says that it doesn't matter if they're under their desks or not. He asks why they even practice then, and Mrs. Baker says that it gives people comfort to feel prepared, especially when it feels like there's little else to do.

Holling and Mrs. Baker light candles. He prays that bombs don't drop on his town and that Lieutenant Baker, Danny, and Heather are safe. When he gets home that afternoon, everyone else is gone. Holling realizes that the biggest hole in the house is his sister's absence and wonders if it takes losing something to know you love it. He realizes he does love his sister, but he can't decide if he wants her to come back or find herself.

Late that night, when Holling is the only one awake, Heather calls. They both start crying, and she manages to say that she's in Minneapolis alone, with only $4. She doesn't know what to do, since a bus ticket to New York City costs $44.55, and she asks Holling to not tell their parents. Holling asks if there's a Western Union there, and his sister can't find one. Right before the call cuts out, Holling tells her to go to the nearest Western Union station.

The next morning, not knowing if Heather heard his instructions or not, Holling creeps around the Commerce Bank and waits for it to open at 10 A.M. When it opens, he cashes his $100 savings bond in for $52 and then runs down the street to the Western Union. He discovers there that Minneapolis has two bus stations, and he decides to send the money to his sister at the Western Union on Heather Avenue. Holling spends the rest of the afternoon hiding around town, thinking about his sister and hiding from his dad and Mrs. Baker.

Finally, on Friday night, Holling gets a call from his Heather saying she's on her way. He tells his dad and his mother at breakfast on Saturday morning that his sister will arrive in New York City at 10:50 A.M. Holling's mother's eyes fill with tears, and his dad asks how she's planning on getting home. Holling asks if he'd go get her, and Holling's dad refuses. He says the keys are on his dresser if Holling wants to go himself and laughs.

Holling grabs the keys to the Mustang and tries to convince his mother to drive them. When she refuses, he goes and sits in the car for a minute. His mother taught him how to drive, but only in parking lots. Holling comes back into the house and sits down. Suddenly, Meryl Lee calls: her dad is going to the Yankee Stadium and wanted to know if Holling wants to come. When Holling asks, Mr. Kowalski offers to drop Holling off at the station on his way. Holling asks his mother for money for train tickets and lunch, and she gives him the money.

When the bus from Chicago arrives, Holling is already at the station. When Heather gets off the bus, the noise of the station seems to stop and doesn't start again until they're hugging each other. She cries that she was afraid she wouldn't find Holling, and Holling tells his sister that he'll always be there. They have grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch and walk around Central Park. Holling talks about the bomb drills and Hamlet, and Heather tells him that in Minneapolis, she got out of Chit's bug and refused to get back in. Later, when they take the train back home, their mother makes burnt grilled cheese sandwiches. Holling's dad asks Heather if she found herself, and Holling answers that she found him.

Holling tells the reader about the end of Hamlet: everyone is dead, and it's hard to believe that Hamlet will find rest in death. He wonders if Hamlet should've stopped trying to find himself, and just let someone else find him. On the last Wednesday of May, Mrs. Sidman brings Mrs. Baker a telegram. Mrs. Baker shakily opens it and reads, "sweet eyes…stop." She makes a happy sound that Holling says is the happiest sound he's ever heard. Mrs. Sidman leads Mrs. Baker to get a drink of water, and Holling reads the rest of the telegram. It's from Lieutenant Baker himself, saying he'll be home in time for strawberries.