The Wave

Laurie wants to tell Amy what she learned from the anonymous letter and about the beating of the Jewish boy. She sees Amy at the football game, but as Laurie approaches her, Brad yells for her to stop. He says she can’t go into the stands without performing The Wave salute. She refuses, but he finally allows her to go, hoping no one will see that she doesn’t salute. When she changes her mind and says she doesn’t want to sit there anymore, he gets aggressive and says people noticed that she wasn’t at the rally.

On Sunday, Laurie holds the meeting for The Grapevine contributors who aren’t members of The Wave. They agree that the issue will include the story about the letter and the report on the beating. The boy is okay, but it’s now accepted as truth that someone called him a “dirty Jew” (97) during the attack. They’ll also include interviews with several concerned parents.

The most important piece is a furious editorial by Laurie. She writes that The Wave suppresses free speech and individuality and calls it the antithesis of the founding fathers’ vision. The sports page will report that Gordon High lost the game badly, proving that The Wave didn’t help them despite their newfound strength and discipline.