STUDY GUIDE - THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS

CHAPTER 16

Life Is So . . . whatever. Kelly Marquette aka Skeletor

Summary

The chapter opens with Bridget who, of course, was still obsessed with Eric. She talked to Diana about how she had seen Eric the night before, but that they hadnÂ’t hooked up. She hoped that night would be the night. Then, Sherrie stopped by and told Bridget she had a package, and Bridget was ecstatic to open the Pants. She tried them on immediately even though they were a little scuffed and dirty from her friends wearing them. That made her feel good to think about her other three friends. She even decided to play in them during her first game until Mollie refused to allow it. Bridget felt so good about the Pants anyway that she played well, just like Mollie wanted her to. Then, when their team was 12 points ahead, Bridget was told to play goalie, a position she despised. Nonetheless, she took her place, and in front of Eric, she used great reflexes to stop the final shot by the losing team. When she saw disappointment on the faces of her teammates that she was running up the score, she threw the ball over her shoulder and the game ended, 12 to 1. After Eric gave her a thumbs up for her generosity, she figured the Pants were good luck even on the sideline.

The scene shifts. Tibby was standing only in underwear and tee-shirt when suddenly Carmen burst into her room. Carmen threw herself on Tibby and began to cry, really cry. She was like a lost child in a department store who had finally found her mother. She told Tibby the whole story, including how she had thrown a rock through their window while they were eating. Tibby listened, but also asked pertinent questions like what exactly had made Carmen run. Carmen felt like Tibby didn’t believe her and bristled with indignation, but then she noticed that Tibby seemed tired, and that she hadn’t even asked her how she was. Eventually, Tibby encouraged Carmen, and Carmen told her friend all that she felt when she was with her dad’s new family. Tibby wondered if Carmen were more mad at her dad, but Carmen refused to admit that she wasn’t just angry at Lydia, Krista, and Paul. Tibby, however, was the rational one now as she asked Carmen if all that had happened to her wasn’t the worse thing in the world. Carmen was outraged that Tibby wasn’t just listening to her as she needed her to do. She asked her as she left her room, “Where’d ya put Tibby?”

Tibby wrote to Lena discussing her movie which isnÂ’t going exactly how she had anticipated. The people they interviewed whom Tibby thought would be the most amusing turned out to be the most interesting, especially from BaileyÂ’s perspective. She ended the letter by telling Lena not to torture herself, because they all loved her too much.

The scene switches to Bee where the all-Coyote championships continued. She brought the Pants to her game for luck once more and saw Eric sitting on a blanket to watch, since his team had played that afternoon and won, too. Unfortunately, Mollie made Bee play defense where she toiled all game until a chance came for her to shine behind the midline. The ball was kicked out of a skirmish along the sidelines, and Bridget captured it and sent it in a high, fast arc toward the goal. The crowd grew silent as they watched the ball float high over the goalieÂ’s head and into the net. Everyone but Mollie began to cheer: Mollie took Bridget out of the game. Bridget wondered whether sheÂ’d be asked back to the camp the next year, while she sat on the grass eating chips and salsa with the last rays of the sun on her shoulders.

Notes

Tibby seems to be the one who is most rational of all the characters mentioned in this chapter and yet she, too, is in the midst of learning patience and understanding. She is farther ahead than Carmen who, like Bee, is wrapped up in her own needs and desires. However, she, too, has a long way to go.