The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

Lena:
[in her first letter to Tibby] I think we may have been very, very wrong about the pants. The one time I wore them I almost drowned...

Carmen:
I am mad at my dad. I am *mad* at my dad. Why is that so hard for me to see, Tibby? I have no problem being mad at you.

Roberta:
[pertaining to the price tag gun] You are really good with that thing! Took me weeks to get the hang of it.

Tibby:
Yeah, well, we all have our special talents.

[shoots sticker onto forehead]

Tibby:
[her voice mail answering message] Hey, it's Tibby. Here comes the beep. Hopefully, you know what to do with it.

Bridget:
Wear them. They'll make you brave.

Carmen:
[voiceover] It would be easy to say that the pants changed everything that summer. But looking back now I feel like our lives changed because they had to, and that the real magic of the pants was in bearing witness to all of this and in somehow holding us together when it felt like nothing would ever be the same again.

[pause]

Carmen:
Some things never would be

Lena:
But we know now that no matter how far we traveled on our own separate paths...

Bridget:
Somehow we would always find out way back to each other.

Tibby:
And with that, we could get through anything.

Bridget:
To us. Who we were, and who we are. And who we'll be.

Tibby:
To the pants.

Lena:
And the sisterhood.

Carmen:
And this moment, and the rest of our lives.

Carmen, Lena, Bridget, Tibby:
Together and apart.

Tibby:
Hey, do you know who would have loved this P, Bee? Your mom.

Bridget:
Yeah. I remember this one time she decided that she'd make one herself. She always woke up starving after one of her episodes. I was just sitting in the kitchen doing my homework and she just walked in and just started making this thing. You know, I don't even know if you could call it a pizza. It was more like the entire contents of our refrigerator on a round crust.

[They all laugh]

Bridget:
Craziest part is we actually ate it.

Carmen:
Of course you did.

[Tibby laughs]

Bridget:
We ate every single bit of that pizza in like 10 minutes.

Tibby:
Yeah.

Bridget:
And we were laughing the whole time. It was great. I remember thinking that maybe there won't be any more bad spells. Maybe she'll just be happy like this forever.

Carmen:
It's okay to miss her, Bee. I mean, as hard as it is to be sad about it don't you think maybe it's harder not to be?

Bridget:
[Crying] You don't understand.

Tibby:
[long pause] Bridge...

Bridget:
I can't. It hurts too much.

Carmen:
I know.

Bridget:
No, you don't know. I just want to feel good and happy and alive. Because if I feel alive then it doesn't seem like she's dead. And if I'm not sad then it proves that I'm not like her.

Carmen:
Bee, you don't have to prove that to anybody. I mean, you have a strength in you that your mom never had. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't find it.

Tibby:
Yeah, and you have something else too.

Bridget:
What?

Tibby:
You have us. And we're not gonna let you go anywhere, okay?

Bridget:
Thank you.

Carmen:
Come here.

[Carmen hugs Bridget and Tibby holds her hand]

Carmen:
Is it fair to bribe the driver to turn around and go back home?

Bridget:
Oh yeah, with what money? Cause Tibby is the only one of us working this summer.

Tibby:
Hey, hey, hey. I actually stacked my last shelf at Wallmans, thank you very much.

Lena:
Congratulations!

Bridget:
Does this mean there's gonna be a ceremonial burning of the smock?

Tibby:
No, actually, Duncan took the smock, but I do have my nametag.

Bridget:
Can we burn it? [they all laugh]

Lena:
Hey, how did your suckumentary turn out?

Tibby:
Uh... uh... well, it actually evolved into something quite different than I expected, so...

Bridget:
What are you gonna call it?

Tibby:
[thinking for a minute] Hmmmm... Bailey. [Tibby smiles and looks to Carmen, who smiles back approvingly]

Tibby:
The magic is unsanitary!

Bridget:
[excitedly] Oh my God, Lena!

Lena:
[holding a picture of her and Kostas fishing] I know, isn't he gorgeous?

Bridget:
I was referring to you holding a fish!

Lena:
You don't even know me.

Kostos:
But I'm trying to. Can't you see that?

Lena:
Papou, I need to say something to you. You can pretend that you don't understand me, but I know you do. People have always said to me that I take after Yia Yia, that I have her face and her smile, but what no-one ever sees is that there's this whole other part of me that's just like you: quiet, and-and stubborn, and afraid of showing too much... and then I met someone who changed everything and he showed me that I can take a chance even when it's only for a moment...

Yia Yia:
Lena!

Papou:
Shh,

[Greek dialogue]

Lena:
You had that same moment once, when you met Yia Yia and you risked everything for it. That was your chance, Papou, and I'm asking now to have mine.

[long pause]

Papou:
[in English] Go.

Tibby:
How old are you, anyway? 10?

Bailey:
I'm 12!

Tibby:
Same difference.

Bailey:
No, when I was 10 I didn't have an iPod.

Tibby:
Mhm, you're so cool. And what do you listen to on there, teletubbies hit parade?

[when Bailey is being taken away on the stretcher-type thing when she fainted in Wallman's and looks at Tibby]

Bailey:
You have a price sticker on your forehead.

Bailey:
[in a video-recording] Hey, it's me, Bailey. You don't have to use this in your movie or anything, although now that I think of it, fainting in Wallman's does kind of qualify me as a loser. But then again, wearing a price sticker on your forehead probably makes you one, too. Ya know, I don't know, Tibby, maybe the truth is there's a little bit of loser in all of us, ya know? Being happy isn't having everything in your life be perfect. Maybe it's about stringing together all the little things like wearing these pants or getting to a new level of Dragon's Lair - making those count for more than the bad stuff. Maybe we just get through it... and that's all we can ask for.

Bailey:
So, uh, who told you?

Tibby:
Uh, told me what?

Bailey:
You found out, didn't you?

Tibby:
We still have time for one more interview...

Bailey:
It's called leukemia... and yeah, I would like to come with you, but are you just asking because you feel sorry for me?

Tibby:
I don't know... maybe.

Bailey:
Okay.

Tibby:
Okay.

Tibby:
I brought something for you... ta da.

Bailey:
The Traveling Pants.

Tibby:
Yeah, I just got them back, from Lena.

Bailey:
The one in Greece.

Tibby:
Yeah, she said that we were right all along and that the pants are magic and I don't know the details but I do know Lena and for her to say that means... that it must be true... so I was thinking that maybe you could have them for a while.

Bailey:
They don't fit me, remember?

Tibby:
[in tears] Yeah, I know, but that doesn't matter... none of it really matters... you have to take them, Bailey... okay, you have to let them help you... please. I know that you're tired, okay, but you can't give up, the Pants will give you a miracle, you have to believe.

Bailey:
The Pants have already worked their magic on me. They brought me to you.

Bridget:
Don't you know that all the beaches in Greece are nude?

Lena:
*What?*

[Lena knocks over a sales rack]

Yia Yia:
In this life, family is the most precious gift we are given, the most sacred. Turn your back on them and that is when you truly have nothing.

Bailey:
I want you to do something for me.

Tibby:
What?

Bailey:
Finish your movie.

Tibby:
Why?

Bailey:
Because you can.

[from trailer]

Lena:
All my life, everybody has seen me a certain way. What do you see?

Carmen:
[to Tibby] Why are you giving me this hypocritical lecture? When you're the one who walks around saying screw the world because that's easier than having to feel something!

Bridget:
Single-minded till the point of recklessness.

Carmen:
[after trying out a bridesmaid dress for the wedding]... And you know what, Lydia? Just forget about the dress. We can tell everybody that Carmen's Puerto Rican. And it never occurred to you she might be built differently. Or that, unlike you and your daughter, she has an ass that the tailor didn't have enough bolts of material to cover, or better yet, just tell everyone there is no Carmen. Carmen doesn't exist!

Kostos:
Some people show off their beauty because they want the world to see it. Others try to hide their beauty because they want the world to see something else.

Lena:
And what do you see?

Kostos:
Everything. [they kiss for the first time]

Lena:
[in her letter, after Kostas accuses her of being afraid to love him] He's right, Car. I am afraid. There's a part of me that wants to let him in but then I feel myself put this wall up and I don't understand why. Maybe that's what strikes me most about Kostas: that despite everything he's suffered he can still look at life in the most uncomplicated way. I've never known that kind of faith. It makes me so sad that people like Kostas and Bridget who have lost everything can still be open to love... while I, who have lost nothing, am not.

Tibby:
Well what, what is she doing here? Tell me.

Bailey:
She's thinking.

Tibby:
She's thinking? I think she's trying to grow a brain, that's what.

Tibby:
Oh man, you were right, and I was wrong, but I'm... I'm wrong about most people, so...

Bailey:
The important thing is... you always change your mind about them.

Carmen:
We have gathered here today to celebrate a magical gift that has been given to us...

Tibby:
then why'd we have to pay for it?

Carmen:
Rule number 8, no double-cuffing the pants.

Tibby:
Oh, good rule! That's so tacky... and you know what else is tacky? Tucking your shirt in when you're wearing a belt...

Lena:
Ok, I do NOT do that any more, I did that ONE time.

Bailey:
You know, I read that when Bill Gates was younger, he ran a lemonade stand.

Tibby:
No, you don't know that.

Bailey:
Yeah I do, I read it in a magazine.

Tibby:
No, where did you read that?

Bailey:
...In a magazine.

Tibby:
[to Bailey] Look, you seem like a sweet kid... actually you seem like a real pain in the ass...

Tibby:
I thought you were excited about going to el campo de futbol.

Carmen:
She sure was until she found out it was all girls!

[after rescuing her in the harbor]

Kostos:
[Greek dialogue]

Lena:
I'm sorry, I-I don't speak Greek very well.

Kostos:
[in English] Well, we'll have to work on that, won't we?

[Carmen is on the phone when her father is leaving]

Young Carmen:
Lena, I don't think he's coming back this time.

Young Lena:
It's gonna be OK, Carmen. I'll come over first thing tomorrow. And Tibby and Bridget, too. Just stay on the phone with me until you fall asleep.

[in a letter to Lena]

Bridget:
It happened just how I always imagined it would. So why do I feel this way, Lena? How can something that's supposed to make you feel so complete end up leaving you so empty? I just wish so much I could talk to my mom. I need her. And that scares me.

Young Tibby:
[filming] "What were they thinking?" Take 7. [walks towards the camera] What were they thinking, having another baby at their age? And what was I, just some... experiment of their hippy days? And now it's time to start their real family?

Young Tibby:
[turns to young Bridget] Go ahead!

Young Bridget:
[walks towards the camera] They're out of their minds! [goes next to young Tibby]

Young Carmen:
[walks towards the camera] This sucks! [goes next to young Bridget]

Young Lena:
[makes a step forward] Totally...

Young Tibby:
Cut! [turns to young Lena] Lena, don't you see this is a tragedy? Can I get a bit *more* enthusiasm?

[Tibby is trying on a piercing]

Carmen:
[to Bridget] Hey, hey! Pierce alert. [points towards Tibby]

Bridget:
[goes to Tibby] Nah-ah, young lady! No more holes for you!

Lena:
[Lena is trying the pants on at Deja Blue]

Carmen:
[shocked] Oh my God! Lena! [whispers] You have a body!

Lena:
[Lena stands in front of the mirror]

Carmen:
[smirking] Lena Kaligaris, you have a body!

Lena:
I do not!

Tibby:
This is abandon! Nothing less, nothing more! I hate you all.

Lena:
Rule #7: Any removal of the pants must be done by the wearer herself. [looks at Bridget]

[Bridget pretends to be offenced]

Lena:
[laughs] Yes, you!

Bridget, Tibby:
[laughing] Touche!

[Lena is trying on the Pants]

Carmen:
Ay dios mio, Lena, you have a BODY! [shocked] Lena Kaligaris has a body!

[everybody laughs]

Carmen:
[laughing] When did this happen?

Lena:
[annoyed] Shh! Stop it! I do not!

Bailey:
You know what I like most about the stars? You look at them, at all of them up there... and you just know there's gotta be something more than...

Tibby:
Life?

Bailey:
There has to be.

Tibby:
Are you scared?

Bailey:
Not of dying, really. It's more that I'm afraid of time. And not having enough of it. Time to figure out who I'm supposed to be... to find my place in the world before I have to leave it. I'm afraid of what I'll miss.

Carmen:
UGGHHHH, Can you get a pizza hangover?

Tibby:
It was the olives.

Carmen:
Tibby no, it was the bacon.

Tibby:
It was the olives.

Carmen:
You think a pair of pants that fits all three of you is going to fit... [slaps hips]... all of this?

Tibby:
Well, maybe sometimes it's easier to be mad at the people you trust.

Carmen:
Why? Why is that?

Tibby:
Because you know they'll always love you, no matter what.

Lena:
And Tibby... Well, Tibby kind of marches to her own drum. I'm kind of jealous of her.

Kostos:
Why?

Lena:
Well, because she knows who she is.

Kostos:
Don't you?

Lena:
I don't know. I think I know who I wanna be.

Tibby:
I'm just saying parents screw up. It's what they're good at. They do.

Carmen:
[At her house, sitting at a table across from Tibby. Awkwardly, shifting in her chair, Carmen speaks into the phone] Um... I just... I wan - .

Al:
[At his house, Al walks from the dining room where Lydia and the kids eat dinner, to a small den and speaks to Carmen at a whisper] I-It's alright. You don't - you don't have to apologize, sweetheart. You were... upset, I know.

Carmen:
Um... no dad. You don't know. That's just it, you've never known. Because I've never been able to tell you.

Al:
T-Tell me what?

Carmen:
That I'm angry with you, Dad! [She stands and walks across the room and begins to pace] This entire thing about you, and Lydia, and... and the kids!

Al:
It's my fault. [He sits at a small table] I, I should have told you about them before... and I'm - I'm sorry.

Carmen:
Yeah, you should have warned me, but it's more than that. It's, it's the fact that you've found yourself this new family and I feel like some outsider that doesn't even belong to you anymore. [Carmen begins to cry, softly] It's like you traded me and mom in for something that you thought was better. And I wanna know why. Are you ashamed of me? Are you embarrassed? [Cut to Al, listening to Carmen through the phone] Just tell me, Dad. What did I do wrong? [Back to Carmen, crying much harder now] Why did you leave? Why did you have to go? And then tell me that we were gonna be closer but that never happened! And why does Paul visit his alcoholic dad every month, but you only visit me twice a year? And I know you... you just seem so happy about being Paul and Chris's dad, but you never even had the time to be mine.

Al:
[Cuts to Al, still sitting. Very quietly] I'm sorry. I... I'm so sorry...

Carmen:
[Back to Carmen] I wish that were enough, Dad. [Hangs up]