The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Chapters 9 and 10 Summary & Analysis

Summary: Chapter 9

“Sometimes you’re the windshield: sometimes you’re the bug.”
—Mark Knopfler

Carmen sees Krista having trouble with her summer geometry homework, but when Albert asks if she’s ready to go play tennis, Carmen leaves happily without offering to help. She writes to Bridget about Paul’s girlfriend, whom she calls “Skeletor.” She says Paul hates her because she tries to make Skeletor jealous.

Bailey comes to Wallman’s, and she and Tibby banter about Tibby’s smock. Tibby reluctantly agrees when Bailey asks if she wants to go out for ice cream later. However, she finds a lot to talk about with Bailey, who enjoys hearing about the documentary. Tibby spots Tucker Rowe, whom she’s been avoiding all summer. Bailey makes fun of his gelled hair.

Bridget proposes to her friends that they go to a bar in a nearby town where all the coaches hang out, and Diana, Ollie, and Rosie agree. There, Bridget begins dancing immediately. She finally sees Eric and knows he’s watching her. Eventually, Eric and the other coaches dance too. Bridget dances with Eric, who gives in to it only briefly before telling her they can’t be so close.

Lena is alone in her room when she hears her grandfather yelling. She rushes downstairs and follows her grandparents, who storm to Kostos’s house. She can’t understand what her grandfather and Kostos’s grandfather are yelling. Suddenly, Lena’s grandfather punches Kostos’s grandfather, and the men begin tussling. Kostos breaks up the fight.

Bridget writes to her father, asking him to send some of her nice clothes.

Summary: Chapter 10

“If you feel like you’re under control, you’re just not going fast enough.”
—Mario Andretti

Carmen and Albert talk about the upcoming wedding on their way to the tennis court. He says that Lydia wants it to be perfect, since her mother died six weeks before her first wedding, and she’d been married in city hall. He tells Carmen that Lydia’s first husband was an alcoholic. Carmen feels sorry for Lydia, Paul, and Krista and vows to be nicer. But when her dad asks if they can watch Paul play soccer before heading to the tennis court, Carmen feels unhappy again.

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