Meryl Lee, in Gary Schmidt's The Wednesday
Wars, is a truly caring person. Holling believes that Meryl Lee has been in
love with him since the third grade. Regardless of the truth of this statement, Meryl
Lee is very supportive of Holling as a person.
When Holling
plays Ariel from Shakespeare's The Tempest in the Shakespeare
Holiday Extravaganza at school, Meryl Lee and Holling's other friends are there to
support him, though his parents do not attend.
An
unexpected catastrophe arises when Meryl Lee and Holling go on a date to see
Romeo and Juliet. They talk about the school that is to be built.
Holling shares his father's plan for the school on a place-mat that Meryl Lee takes home
as a memento. When there is a meeting about the school, Holling's father's plans appear
in the hands of Meryl's dad, as if he had come up with them. It is
clear that Meryl's father used the place-mat that Holling had written on, and Holling
believes Meryl Lee gave the design to her dad.
Holling
ignores Meryl Lee because he feels betrayed and is angry; and Meryl Lee comes to school
wearing sunglasses. When Holling makes a comment regarding Romeo and
Juliet and not "trusting others," he has finally pushed Meryl too far. She
tries to explain that she had nothing to do with her father's actions. He does not
believe her, so she removes the sunglasses in an attempt to throw them at Holling, and
when she does, he sees that her eyes are red from crying—she has been
devastated by what has happened, showing that she is trustworthy
and really cares not only about Holling, but about how
he sees her. Holling comes to his senses and
goes to Meryl Lee's house to make peace.
Meryl Lee
demonstrates her friendship and caring for Hollis by supporting him, and the suffering
she experiences when they fight with one another indicates how deeply her regard for
Holling goes.
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