Cecilia was the first to go.
What are you doing here,
honey?
You're not even old enough to know
how bad life gets.
Obviously, Doctor, you've never been
a 13-year-old girl.
Everyone dates the demise
of our neighborhood...
from the suicides
of the Lisbon girls.
People saw their clairvoyance
in the wiped-out elms.
the harsh sunlight and the continuing
decline of our auto industry.
Even then, as teenagers, we tried to put
the pieces together.
We stilI can't.
Now, whenever we run into each other
at business lunches or cocktail parties,
we find ourselves in the corner
going over the evidence one more time...
all to understand
those five girls,
who, after all these years,
we can't get out of our minds.
Cecilia, the youngest, was 13,
and Lux was 14.
Bonnie was 15.
Mary was 16.
and Therese was 17.
No one could understand how Mrs. Lisbon
and Mr. Lisbon, our math teacher,
had produced
such beautiful creatures.
Paul Baldino claimed to have
found Cecilia on her first attempt.
I was the one who found her.
I was in the storm sewer under my house,
and there's all these tunnels.
You could get
into anyone's house.
So when Paul said this,
we believed him...
because he was the son
of Sammy "The Shark" Baldino,
and we knew about his escape tunnel
that led through the sewers.
So I went up, thinking I could see
the Lisbon girls taking a shower.
- Right.
- Then I walk in,
and I see blood everywhere.
I turned around and went straight
for the stairs and back out the tunnel.
I had to tell you guys
that story, so...
See you guys later,
all right.
- It was an accident.
- No!
It was no accident, Joan.
Of course the parents are to blame.
Well, I heard they found
the razor in the toilet.
Everyone had an opinion as
to why Cecilia tried to kill herself.
That girI didn't want to die.
She just wanted out of that house.
She wanted out of
that decorating scheme.
The most popular theory
held Dominic Palazzolo to blame.
Dominic was the immigrant kid staying
with relatives until his family...
got settled in New Mexico.
He was the first boy in our
neighborhood to wear sunglasses.
and within a week of his arrival,
he'd fallen in love.
The object of his desire
wasn't Cecilia...
but Diana Porter.
- I love her.
When Diana Porter left on vacation
in Switzerland, Dominic denounced God,
Oh. no!
And. to prove his love. he jumped off
the roof of his relatives' house.
I'm gonna show you some images,
and, uh, you tell me...
what they remind you of.
Okay?
A banana.
A swamp.
An Afro.
I don't think Cecilia
truly meant to end her life.
Her act was a cry for help.
I know you're very strict.
but I think that Cecilia would benefit
by having a social outlet...
outside of the codification
of school,
where she could interact
with males her own age.
Peter Sisten helped Mr. Lisbon...
install a model of the solar
system in his classroom,
and in return. Mr. Lisbon
invited him for dinner.
Bless us, O Lord, and these...
Thy gifts which we are about
to receive from Thy bounty,
through Christ, our Lord, amen.
Amen.
- Lux, please, put your shirt on.
- Sorry.
- Thank you, dear.
- Can you pass the salt, please?
- Ham?
- Thank you.
- Sweetheart would you like some peas?
- I hate peas.
Yeah?
That's a nice-looking ham, dear.
Well, thank you, honey.
So, Peter, are you
an aviation enthusiast?
I don't know if I'd call myself
an enthusiast, but I like planes.
Ah.
Uh, Peter, are you
on-on the football squad?
Um, no, I play.
but I'm not actually on the team.
- Not a team player.
- Do you like to wrestle?
- You okay, Peter?
The Brazilian turbot frog was added
to the endangered species list today.
- That's the third animal this year.
- Oh, dear!
The turbot frog. darling...
I don't think I've ever heard...
Um, excuse me.
May I use the restroom?
Oh, of course. The one down here
isn't working very well.
- Go upstairs through Cecilia's room.
- Okay, thanks.
- Hold-Hold on.
I thought you died
in there.
You done hogging the bathroom?
I need something.
Do you mind?
- Thank you very much.
- You forgetting something?
Peter, here's the little airfoil
I thought you might find amusing.
Thank you.
It's, uh...
a demonstration
of Bernoulli's principle: lift...
From that time on,
the Lisbon house began to change.
- Almost every day,
and even when she wasn't
keeping an eye on Cecilia,
Lux would suntan on her towel
wearing a swimsuit,
that caused the knife sharpener to give
her a 15-minute demonstration for free.
Following the doctor's orders,
two weeks after Cecilia returned home,
Mr. Lisbon persuaded his wife to allow
the girls the first and only party...
of their short lives.
There. Is that okay?
I gotta get dressed.
- Welcome!
- Good evening, Mrs. Lisbon.
Come on in!
The party's in the basement.
Just go on around to the left
and then down the stairs.
- Hi, I'm Mona Venture. Hi.
- Hi. Tim.
- Nice to meet you.
- Hi.
- Hi.
- Would you like some punch?
- Yeah!
- Thanks.
- Hi.
Thanks.
- Hi.
- Thank you.
- Hey.
- Hi.
- Do you wanna sit down?
- Yeah.
Um. how'd your
S.A.T.s go?
Okay.
Do you know where
you're applying yet?
Well, no, but my parents
are pushing towards Yale,
'cause that's
where my dad went.
That's nice.
You'd have to imagine what it'd be like
when the clouds would open up...
and out of the sun would come the Hun
and his Messerschmitt coming down.
And boys, I swear. what...
two or three years older than you...
would be in this.
the P-51-B Mustang.
"B" for what?
For "bull's-eye".
- You've heard of Yale?
- Oh, yeah.
- This punch is fantastic.
- Can I give you more?
Oh, sure.
What's in it?
Juices, some cherry.
pineapple.
You know, I...
I love pineapple.
Really?
This baby would come in, and this won
the war for the United Kingdom.
You see?
- Excuse me.
- Sure.
And this kind of...
this kind of equipment...
that-that makes, uh,
a model work.
Here's Joe.
- Hi, Joe!
- Hi.
- If he needs anything, call me.
- I'm sure he'll be fine.
Hi.
- Hi.
- Joe!
Good to see you.
How are you?
- Hey, Joe. How's it going?
- Glad you came tonight.
- You're just in time.
- Yeah, thanks.
Good. Hi.
Hey, everyone, look! His ears wiggle
if you scratch his chin.
- Joe.
sing your song.
# All the monkeys have no tails
in Sambo Wango #
# All the monkeys have no tails
'cause were bitten off by whales #
# All the monkeys have no tails
in Sambo Wango ##
- Whoo! Go, Joe!
- Good job, Joe. Good song.
Good job, Joe.
- Hey, where'd you learn that song?
- That was good.
May I be excused?
If you want to, dear,
but this is your party.
All right, if you wanna go upstairs,
go ahead, but we'll just...
we'll just have to have fun
without you.
Look, he always chooses heads.
Joe, what's it gonna be?
Heads.
Joe, will you try tails?
Heads, it is.
Let's try again, eh?
- Heads.
- Tails.
Heads. One more time.
In the air, Joe.
Heads.
Heads it is anyway.
One more time here.
- Okay, call it in the air, Joe.
- Heads.
Heads. Enough of that.
- How you doing?
- Good.
- Picked it out really well.
- It's my favorite song.
You know. you're...
you're very beautiful.
Say, I could
paint you some time.
Thanks.
- Oh, so, do they sing it to you?
- Yeah.
- Oh, wow!
- Good!
- Cecilia!
Cecilia!
Oh, my... No! Don't look!
Don't look!
Turn around! Turn around!
Darling. turn around.
Don't-Don't-Don't look.
Oh, Jesus. Oh, Jesus.
Please, God.
No funerals today.
- What'd he say?
- Said she was only 13.
Oh, hi, Mary.
Are your parents home?
Hi, Father Moody.
Come in.
Oh, hello, Father.
Please, sit down.
Thanks.
Come on, Miller.
that was inside.
Ah, no, no, thanks.
How about we get the missus down here,
have a little chat?
Afraid she's under
the weather.
She's not really... seeing anybody.
Well, she'll see
her priest.
Ah, this kid's a sucker
for the high inside ones every time.
Every time.
Excuse me.
Father...
Double play, Father.
Double play.
Mrs. Lisbon?
- May I come in?
- Okay.
Hello, girls.
I thought we could talk.
Do you feel like talking?
You know, if you ever want to,
you know where to find me.
Mrs. Lisbon.
it's Father Moody.
Mrs. Lisbon.
Hello.
I wanted you to know that
I listed Cecilia's death...
as an accident.
An accident waiting to happen. John said
he couldn't get a policy to cover it.
I know. It's so
incredibly dangerous.
Let's give it a try.
Ready...
one, two, three.
Oh, God. it's just so sad,
I can't even believe it.
The footings are too deep.
You got that chain in your truck?
Hit it!
Our collection of souvenirs of
the Lisbon girls... which still exists...
started with Cecilia's diary.
Parkie had gotten it from Skip Ortega,
the plumber's assistant,
who had found it next
to the toilet in the bathroom.
Tim Weiner, the brain,
decoded it.
Emotional instability.
Look at the I's...
The dots on 'em,
they're everywhere.
Basically, what we have here
is a dreamer.
someone completely
out of touch with reality.
When she jumped.
she probably thought she would fly.
"Monday. February 13...
Today we had frozen pizza".
"Thursday... Mom made creamed corn
for dinner. It's the worst.
It looks like... "
"Mary chipped her front tooth
on the monkey bars acting like an idiot.
She made a big scene and had to go get
her tooth capped. It looks normal".
Here, give me that.
I told you she had
a capped tooth.
Elm trees... How many pages
can you write about dying trees?
Here. Something
about Dominic.
"Palazzolo jumped off the roof over rich
bitch Porter. How stupid can you be?"
"Today. we went out on the boat.
It was pretty cold.
We sawa couple of whales.
Lux leaned over and stroked the whale.
I didn't think they would stink so much.
It's the kelp
in their baleens rotting.
I hope we can
go again sometime".
Hang on. Read this. Read that.
"Lux lost it over Kevin... "
- "Heins". The garbageman.
- Is it Heins? Um... the garbageman.
Lux lost it
over Kevin Haines, the garbageman.
She'd wake up at 5:00 in the morning and
hang out casually on the front steps.
like it wasn't
completely obvious.
She wrote his name in marker
on all her bras and underwear,
and Mom found them
and bleached out all the Kevins.
Lux was crying
on her bed all day.
The trees, like lungs,
filling with air.
My sister, the mean one,
pulling my hair.
And so we started to learn
about their lives,
coming to hold collective memories
of times we hadn't experienced.
We felt the imprisonment
of being a girl,
the way it made your mind
active and dreamy...
and how you ended up knowing
what colors went together.
We knew the girls
were really women in disguise,
that they understood love,
and even death,
and that our job was merely to create
the noise that seemed to fascinate them.
We knew that they knew
everything about us...
and that we couldn't
fathom them at all.
Hi. Mrs. Lisbon.
I'm Lydia Perl.
I'm putting together a...
Oh!
- Hi, I'm Bonnie. This is Mary.
- Hello, girls.
I'm here to ask you a couple
of questions about Cecilia.
Yeah?
Great, great.
Maybe you could start...
by telling me
a little bit about her.
Did she have
any special interests or hobbies?
- Um, she liked to write in her journal.
- That is great.
Okay. Did she... Did she ever
talk about ending her life?
What's going on here?
Uh, you must be
Mrs. Lisbon.
I'm Lydia Perl.
I'm doing a piece for Channel Two.
You have to leave now.
Ms. Perl.
The suicide of an east side
teenager last summer...
has increased the awareness
of a national crisis.
I now stand in front of the home
where Cecilia Lisbon,
- Why don't they let her rest in peace?
- a 13-year-old...
who liked to paint and write poetry,
tragically put an end to her life.
Psychologists agree
that adolescence today...
is much more fraught by pressures
and complexities than in years past.
More doctors say this frustration
can lead to acts of violence...
whose reality the adolescent cannot
separate from its intended drama.
I baked a pie
full of rat poison.
I thought I could eat it.
you know,
without being suspicious.
My nana, who was 86...
she really liked sweets.
She had three pieces.
- I feel for the mother.
- I know.
You would always wonder if there was
something you could've done.
- Well, I gotta go. See ya later.
- All right, then, bye-bye.
Don't worry.
They took the fence out.
God, you snore loud.
Those girls have
a bright future ahead of them.
The other one was just
gonna end up a kook.
We didn't see
the girls together as a group...
until convocation, September 7.
Mary, Lux.
Bonnie and Therese...
came to school
as though nothing had happened.
We felt that if we kept
looking hard enough.
we might begin to understand what they
were feeling and who they were.
All right, so, if we have... and these
are Venn diagrams as you remember...
If we have "A" and "B"
intersecting,
and "A" and "B".
If "A" intersects "B".
we have this area,
and if "A" is
the union with "B",
we have all of the circle
plus the intersection.
These are the laws
of intersection and union. Okay?
How's it goin'?
Not bad.
"Do a character sketch on the following
characters from Portrait of a Lady".
The first one is Ralph.
Um, he was nice.
It was really sad
when he died.
Oh, my gosh, I can't believe
I just said that.
I am so sorry.
Reading about
the alarming suicide rate,
I talked to Mr. Woodhouse
and some of the teachers here...
and realized that nothing
about this serious matter...
has been discussed
at this school.
And quickly there after.
green pamphlets were distributed.
We thought green was cheerful,
but not too cheerful...
certainly better than red.
The green pamphlets told us
there were 80 suicides a day in America,
- 30,000 a year.
- Cheese!
and alerted us to danger signals
we couldn't help but look for.
Were the Lisbon girls'
pupils dilated?
Had they lost interest
in school activities,
in sports and hobbies?
Had they withdrawn
from their peers?
Hi, I'm Chase.
I know who you are.
I've only been going
to this school my whole life.
You don't
have to talk to me.
So, for example, we have
two different types of economics,
or so-called
different types of economics.
The first one, you could say,
is called macroeconomics.
Look, she's laughing.
He made her laugh. I've never heard
him say anything remotely intelligent.
The boys who talked with
Lux were always the stupidest boys...
and made terrible sources
of information.
Squeezebox is all right.
Let me tell you, she's the hottest girl
in this school, for sure.
If you wanna know what happened,
smell my fingers, man.
Nah, she didn't talk
about Cecilia.
We weren't exactly talking.
if you know what I mean.
But the only reliable boy
who actually got to know Lux...
was Trip Fontaine.
who only eight months
before the suicides,
had emerged from baby fat to the delight
of girls and mothers alike.
I'm late again.
Oh, come on.
Thank you.
# Cold late nights
so long ago #
# When I was not so strong
you know #
# A pretty man came to me
Never seen eyes so blue #
# Even though I could not run away
it seemed #
# We'd seen each other
in a dream #
# Seemed like he knew me #
# He looked right through me
Yeah #
# Come on home, girl
he said with a smile #
# You don't have to love me #
# Let's get high a while #
# But try to understand #
# Try to understand
Try, try #
# Try to understand #
# He's a magic man, Mama #
# Ahh
he's a magic man ##
All the girls at our school
were in love with Trip.
All the girls.
except for Lux.
Trip told us his passion
for Lux Lisbon all started...
when he went into the wrong history
class during fifth period.
As was his custom, he went to his car
to smoke the marijuana...
he took as regularly...
as Peter Petrovich,
the diabetic kid, took his insulin.
On this day, he ran into Mr. Woodhouse
and ducked in the nearest class.
She was the still point
of the turning world, man.
I never got over that girl.
Never.
I mean, you know, I loved a lot
of ladies, but not like that.
That was real.
I'll never forget
the first time I saw her.
I didn't know
what had hit me.
Now, I-I didn't know
what to do,
'cause it was so easy
with the other girls.
But she wouldn't look at me.
I, uh, I was never
the kind to pursue,
if you know what I mean.
That girl
drove me crazy, man.
Mmm, yummy, warm.
- Lux.
- Hey.
- It's just meat on bread.
- Ew, sick.
- Thanks, Mom.
Trip's dad was little help.
First off, don't call her on the phone.
It's all...
it's all subtlety.
It's all nuance.
Yeah, yeah, you just need to talk
to her at school, you know.
about anything, about the weather
or school assignments.
Uh, anything to have the chance
to communicate...
with the language
of eye contact.
And-And project
confidence.
And keep the hair
out of your eyes.
Feel the vibe.
- Be yourself.
- Yeah.
The word "hurricane" was the name given
to nature's strongest storm.
A hurricane occurs when high pressure
and low pressure masses of air...
come in contact
with one another.
There is often a significant difference
in temperature between the two masses.
One mass is warm,
while the other is cold.
The warmer air rises,
and the cooler air falls.
Likewise, the low pressure area
slides down the sides...
of the high pressure area.
They swirl in and around
one another,
creating the beginnings
of the storm.
With this footage, taken from U.S. Navy
Weather Patrol aircraft,
we can clearly observe
the two masses,
one high pressure
and one low pressure,
coming in contact
with one another.
The result is a surging storm
of tremendous strength...
that strikes
with forceful determination.
Even though the hurricane is the most
powerful storm known to all of us,
when it strikes large land matter,
such as continents
or large islands,
it slowly dies.
- Oh, God. Must've been Conley.
His ass is grass.
I'm gonna ask you out.
Fat chance.
First, I'm gonna come over to your house
on Sunday and watch the tube.
Then I'm gonna ask you out.
You're a stone fox.
The hurricane... one of the most truly
awe-inspiring and spectacular stories...
nature has to offer.
- What channel's this?
- Five.
Oh, let's see.
Um, "Animals in the Wild".
"Journey through
the African Kalahari...
as we visit exotic animals
in their natural habitat".
I think that sounds
very nice, don't you?
In the southwest,
this huge rain forest...
eventually gives way
to expansive air and grasslands...
that stretch to the horizon
in all directions.
This is the Kalahari.
Uh, do you want
some more pop?
Yeah, sure.
Thank you.
- Thanks.
The wildlife spectacle
laid out on these vast grasslands...
and the deep recesses
of the rain forest...
is unparalleled
anywhere on Earth.
Lux, please.
put your feet down, honey.
- The Kalahari and its vast skies...
provide the theater for the elemental
life and death drama...
played out by the plentiful
four-footed herds...
and the great hunting cats
that prey on them.
Oh, my.
It's getting so late.
Honey?
- I said it's getting late.
- Oh, Well.
Skip, we usually hit
the hay about now, so...
Right. Yeah.
- Okay. Okay. Okay, so...
- Thank you.
- It was nice to meet you, Mrs. Lisbon.
- Yes.
- See ya.
- Good night.
Bye.
Bye.
# We stilI have time
We might still get by #
# Every time I think about it
I wanna cry #
# With the bombs and the devils
and the kids keep coming #
- Gotta get back before bed check.
# But I tell myself
that I was doing all right #
# There's nothin' left
to do tonight #
# But go crazy on you ##
Uh, this is fourth period, Trip.
I don't have you until fifth, do I?
- I know. I'm not here for math, sir.
- Oh.
I'm here to tell you that my intentions
for your daughter are honorable.
What... might those
intentions be?
I want to ask Lux
to the homecoming dance.
Trip, why don't you
sit down for a minute?
You see, my wife
and I have certain rules.
They've been the same rules for the
older girls, and I can't very well...
go and change them now
for the younger ones.
Even if I wanted to, the wife
wouldn't let me. True.
So, um.
if you want to come over and watch
television again, that would be fine.
But you cannot take Lux out,
especially not in a car, so...
I'm sorry, son.
That's just our policy.
Okay, sir, what if...
What if it was a bunch of us guys...
and we took all your daughters out
in a group,
and we had them back by whatever time
that you said?
- You on the football squad, son?
- Yes, sir.
- Ah. What position?
- Defensive cornerback.
Ah. Good, good.
I was a...
I was a safety in my day.
Well, that's
a crucial position, sir.
- Nothin' between you and the goal line.
- Exactly.
- Oh, well.
So, the thing is, sir, we've got
the big game against Country Day,
and then afterwards, we have the dance
and everything, and...
Like, all the other guys
are taking dates.
You're a good-lookin'
fella, uh, Trip.
Lots of girls would
go with you, I bet.
I'm not interested
in lots of girls, sir.
I'll take it up with the wife, Trip.
Do what I can.
Thank you, sir.
- It's a graph.
- Oh.
Hmm.
Uh, Trip Fontaine
and some of the...
boys on the football squad have asked to
take the girls to the homecoming dance...
- You know how I feel about that.
- Dear, I'm going to be a chaperone.
- Oh, come on, Mom, please!
Your father and I
will discuss it later.
Mr. Fontaine. may I
speak with you, please?
Now, my wife and I
have had a little talk,
and we've come to a decision
about your request.
Yes!
- I'm taking Lux Lisbon to homecoming.
All I need is three guys
to take the other girls.
- I'll give you three joints, Trip.
- Come on, Trip.
- We can take my dad's Caddy.
You gotta pick me, Tripster!
Trip, man.
you owe me.
- I saved your ass with Woodhouse.
- Thanks, Dad!
- Okay, okay.
- Who are the other boys?
- Ah, let's see.
Uh, Parker Denton
and Jake Conley...
he's a very good student, dear...
and uh, Kevin Head.
- Who's taking who?
- "Whom".
They're just gonna
raffle us off.
It didn't make any difference...
which pattern of their dream dresses
the girls each chose.
Mrs. Lisbon added an inch
to the bustline...
and two inches to the waist and hems.
And the dresses came out
as four identical sacks.
- Everybody decent?
- Yeah.
Okay. Come on.
Oh. I'm sorry.
Okay, there we go.
Okay, come on.
Together.
- And cheddar cheese.
- I think there's a leak.
- Okay, let's go.
- I'm so excited.
- Any moment.
- We ready?
- Let's go.
I'm ready, man.
Let's do it.
In the end.
Parkie won because of the Cadillac,
Kevin Head because he had
the killer weed...
and Joe Hill Conley because he won
all the school prizes,
which Trip thought would
impress Mr. and Mrs. Lisbon.
- Hello. boys.
- Hello, Mrs. Lisbon.
Come in.
- Uh, who... Who's driving?
- I am.
How long have you
had your license?
Two months, but I had my learner's
permit for a year before that.
We almost never allow the girls to go
out in cars unless it's necessary.
There are so many
accidents nowadays.
- I'm sure you will be very careful.
- Oh, yes, ma'am.
Okay, third degree's over.
Girls?
I better get going.
I'll see you at the dance, huh?
- See you there, Mr. Lisbon.
- Okay.
- Bye. dear.
See you later.
Girls?
Come on down.
The boys are here.
We got white ones.
We didn't know
what you were wearing, and the guy...
the flower guy said that white
would go with anything.
I'm glad
you got white.
Why don't you pin them on?
Yeah.
Don't stick me.
This isn't... gonna work.
- There we go. All right. Let's do it.
- All right.
- Bye, Mom.
- Bye.
Oh, my gosh, look, you guys.
Her car is there late again.
I'm sure Mr. Leo's having
an affair with the maid. I saw him...
follow her
into the laundry room.
He's so sad, that red nose.
Totally an alcoholic.
Yeah, what about the Hessens?
You know they're Nazis.
They're Nazi sympathizers,
Bonnie.
They had a fit when the Schwartzmans
tried to join the tennis club.
Nice aluminum siding.
Do they really think that looks okay?
You know Mr. Kriegers
ordered that from TV late at night.
- It's the Baldinos' barbecue stump.
- I have never seen them...
barbecue on that thing.
Actually, it's an escape tunnel
for Sammy the Shark.
It leads to a river where he
keeps his speedboat.
Yeah, Paul goes down there all the time.
He can get into anyone's basement...
through the storm sewers.
- No way.
- Yeah.
Cool.
- Dad'll smell it on you.
- No, I got mints.
He'll smell it
on your clothes.
I'll just tell him some kids
were smoking in the bathroom.
- Don't let it die a virgin.
- That's gross.
Yeah. Grow up, Conley.
# You're #
# Sailin' softly
through the sun #
# In a broken
Stone Age dawn #
# You fly #
# So high #
# I get a strange magic #
# Oh, Lord. I do #
# Strange magic #
# Oh, it's a strange magic #
# Got a strange magic #
# Got a strange magic #
- Uh, do you wanna dance?
- Sure.
# You're #
# Walking meadows
in my mind #
# Making waves
across my time #
# Oh, no #
# Oh, no #
# I get a strange magic
Oh, Lord, I do #
# Strange magic #
We've been having such lovely weather,
don't you think?
- Yeah. Yeah, it's been nice.
- # Strange magic #
# Got a strange magic #
- # Got a strange magic ##
Uh, good evening, everyone. If I could
have your attention for just a moment.
I hope you're all having a goodtime.
Sure looks like it.
- Here's the spot.
- The dance committee outdid themselves.
I'd like to open the voting
for homecoming king and queen.
The ballot box is over
at the refreshments table.
so please cast your votes, and we'll
make the announcement in a little while.
Thank you.
- Did anybody see you come in?
- No.
- What about you?
- No.
- You'll love it.
Peach schnapps. Babes love it.
# I'm not in love #
# So don't forget it #
# It's just a silly phase #
# I'm goin' through #
- That stuff tastes really good.
- # And just because #
- I don't want any. Thanks.
- # I called you up #
- Come on, just a taste. A tiny taste.
Don't be such
a goody-goody.
- # I'm not in love #
- Don't swallow it.
# No, no #
# It's because #
# I'd like to see you #
# But then again #
# That doesn't mean
you mean that much to me #
# I'm not in love #
# No, no #
# It's because ##
Can I have
everyone's attention?
I'd like you to put your hands together
for this year's king and queen...
- Trip Fontaine and Lux Lisbon!
- # Some happy, some sad #
# Think of childhood friends
and the dreams we had #
Whoo!
# Lived happily forever #
# So the story goes #
# But somehow we missed out #
All right. Luxy!
# On the pot of gold #
# But we'll try
the best that we can #
# To carry on #
# A gathering of angels #
# Appeared above my head #
# They sang to me
this song of hope #
# And this is what they said
They said #
# Come sail away
Come sail away #
# Come sail away with me #
# Come sail away
Come sail away #
# Come sail away with me ##
I'm having the best time!
- Let's go for a walk.
We better not.
I've gotta go back in a minute.
We can keep an eye on the car.
They won't leave without us.
My dad.
Just tell him you had to put
your crown in your locker.
- Hey, you see that divot there?
- Uh-huh.
That's where I reamed
this guy today, man. Cross body block.
- Really?
- Maybe they went home with your dad.
- I doubt it.
- We're cooked.
- Luxy is. We're not.
Does anyone
have any mints?
- Sorry.
- No.
Bye, Parkie.
- We'll walk you to the door.
- No. Don't.
- Why not?
- Just don't.
- Okay.
- Will you call me?
Uh, absolutely.
- Bye.
- Bye.
Bye.
Are you okay? Are you hurt?
What happened?
Where have you been?
Where have you been?
Get in the house!
I walked home alone that night.
I didn't care how she got home.
It was weird.
I mean. I liked her.
I liked her a lot.
But out there
on the field...
It was just
different then.
That was the last time
I saw her.
You know, most people
will never taste that kind of love.
But at least
I tasted it once, right?
It's time for your
6:00 group meeting.
Given Lux's failure to make
curfew, everyone expected a crackdown.
But few anticipated
it would be so drastic.
The girls were taken
out of school...
and Mrs. Lisbon shut the house
in maximum security isolation.
She had done more
than just take the girls out of school.
That Sunday, arriving home
from a spirited church sermon,
Mrs. Lisbon commanded Lux
to destroy her rock records.
- Now.
- But Mom!
This is final, Luxy.
- It's not fair!
- I said now.
- Now, Luxy!
- Come on!
- Hold on.
Kiss! Please don't make me do this.
- Burn it.
Oh, Mom, Aerosmith.
Come on, please.
- Don't make me burn this. Please.
- No.
- What's that smell?
It's all right.
That'll do for now.
Give me these.
Give me these.
I'll put them in the trash.
Whoo-hoo! Whoo!
This was around the time
we began to see Lux...
making love on the roof
with random boys and men.
- What else? Come on, is she naked?
- You can't tell. Hold on.
- Well, get it focused!
- You're pushin' it. What are you doin'?
Will you stop?
Wait your turn.
- They're rollin' around up there.
- Let me see.
- Let me see.
- Hold on.
And she's on him, and he's rubbing
his hands through her hair...
- Come on, let me have a look.
- No, no, no. It's my telescope, Chase!
- Yes, and what else?
Our... Our male up there seems to be
in a... a Burger Chalet uniform.
Let me see.
Is it...
Yeah, the Burger Chalet. You never
think that those guys ever get lucky.
And she turns to me and asks me if I
thought what we had just done was dirty.
I knew what to say.
I said no.
Then she grabs my hand and goes,
"You like me, don't you?"
I didn't say anything. You know.
it's best to keep chicks guessing.
Chase, honey, come practice
your violin before dinner.
You're not gonna believe it.
Lux is on the roof again tonight.
- Her hands are moving down.
- I gotta see this.
- This is beautiful.
- No, now she's on top of him.
- What's she doin', man?
- Wait.
Now they're done.
He's getting up.
- Popcorn.
- That's it? That was quick.
"N" plus one...
and if the dimension is time.
then you would have as your approach...
Oh, good morning.
Good morning...
Have we photosynthesized
our breakfast today?
- Hello, Ronald.
- Hi, Eric.
Your daughters haven't been at school
for over two weeks.
Have you checked
out back?
Dini Fleischer
said they found a new math teacher.
He's gonna have to get another job,
that's for sure.
I know.
How long can those girls
be cooped up like that?
- Just go away! This is our tree.
- Girls.
Girls, it's a little late, okay?
This tree is dead.
Why don't you just
leave it up to nature?
If we left it up to nature.
there'd be no trees left.
That's what it's gonna be like.
If the boats didn't bring
the fungus from Europe.
none of this would have happened.
Okay. Let's go.
No? All right. That's it.
I have an order to cut down your
elm tree, but your kids won't let us.
- How do you know that tree's sick?
- Believe me, we know.
It had yellow leaves.
The tree is dead, for Christ's sake.
Are you familiar with Aratex?
Our daughter showed us an article.
- It's a less aggressive therapy.
- And it doesn't work.
I leave that tree there,
they'll all be gone by next year.
Will be anyway
the way things are going.
Look. I don't want
to have to call the police.
Our daughters are
simply standing on their own front lawn.
Since when
is that a crime?
Uh...
Clyde? Did you see those girls
in the nigh ties?
That's what I want.
That's the shot that I want, okay?
You're gonna have to move forward.
I want those girls in the nigh ties.
Oh, God. Okay. Here, let's just back up
a little bit here.
There you go.
Is that good? Okay?
Four sisters
of Cecilia Lisbon,
the east side teenager
whose suicide last summer...
focused awareness
on a national problem.
put their own lives in jeopardy
by trying to protect the elm...
that Cecilia
so dearly loved.
The circles under your eyes
come out more when overcast.
All right?
So you need to wear more concealer.
For the next few weeks,
we hardly saw the girls at all.
Joe Hill Conley didn't call Therese
as he had promised.
And Lux never spoke
to Trip again.
You're a stone fox.
The girls' only contact
with the outside world...
was through
the catalogs they ordered...
that started to fill the mailbox
with pictures of high end fashions...
and brochures
for exotic vacations.
Unable to go anywhere, the girls
traveled in their imaginations...
to gold-tipped
Siamese temples...
or past an old man with a leaf broom
tidying a moss-carpeted speck of Japan.
We ordered
the same catalogs.
and flipping through the pages, we hiked
through dusty passes with the girls,
stopping every now and then to help them
with their backpacks,
placing our hands on their
warm, moist shoulders,
and gazing off
at papaya sunsets.
We drank tea with them
in a water pavilion.
We did
whatever we wanted.
Cecilia hadn't died.
She was a bride
in Calcutta.
The only way we could feel
close to the girls...
was through these impossible excursions,
which have scarred us forever,
making us happier
with dreams than wives.
Collecting everything
we could of theirs.
the Lisbon girls
wouldn't leave our minds,
but they were
slipping away.
The color of their eyes was fading
along with the exact locations...
of moles and dimples.
From five,
they had become four,
and they were all
the living and the dead,
becoming shadows.
We would have lost them completely
if the girls hadn't contacted us.
Okay, one long,
two short,
- one long.
- Mm-hmm.
You got that?
That's it.
Okay.
"Help.
Send...
Bobo".
- Bobo?
- Bobo. It's...
That's what it says.
"Bobo".
Help. send Bobo?
I thought you knew Morse code.
Something here for you.
I got one too.
We racked our brains
for a way of contacting them.
Tom Faheem suggested we fly a kite with
a message alongside the house,
but that had
logistical problems.
In the end. the answer was so simple
it took a week to come up with.
We called them
on the telephone.
- 727-8221.
- 8221. Get ready.
- Hello?
- Go.
# Hello, it's me #
# I've thought about us
for a long, long time #
Call us. 727-0487.
# Maybe I think too much
but something's wrong ##
- Shit. It's them.
# To think
that only yesterday #
# I was cheerful
bright and gay #
# Looking forward to
Who wouldn't do #
# The role I was
about to play #
# But in my hour of need #
# I truly am indeed #
# Alone again #
# Naturally ##
# Run to me #
# Whenever you're lonely #
# Run to me #
# If you need a shoulder #
# Now and then #
# You need someone older #
# So darlin' ##
# So far away #
# Doesn't anybody stay #
# In one place anymore #
# It would be so fine
to see #
# Your face at my door #
# Doesn't help to know #
# You're just far #
- # Away ##
- I gotta go home.
- See you tomorrow.
- I'll see you later.
- I'm... I'm just...
- We're suffocating.
- You're safe here.
- I can't breathe in here.
No answer.
- What time is it?
- Any time now.
Guys, there it is.
What?
Yeah, it's them.
- Let's go!
- Let's go!
I've got the keys
to my mom's car.
- Shh!
Maybe we should knock.
We're here.
About time.
We've been waiting
for you guys.
We got a car. We got a full tank of gas.
We'll take you anywhere you want to go.
It's just a Cougar, but it's
got a pretty big trunk.
Can I sit up front?
Sure.
Which one of you's gonna
sit up front next to me?
Where are your parents?
- Asleep.
- What about your sisters?
- They're coming.
- Come on. It's getting late.
Wait five minutes.
We had to wait until
my parents were asleep.
They take forever.
My mom's an insomniac.
We better take our car.
There's more room.
Think you can handle
a station wagon?
Sure. It's not
a stick, is it?
- No.
- Yeah, no problem.
- Will you let me steer?
- Sure.
But maybe we should get out of here.
I just heard something.
- It could be your mom.
- Come on in.
I'll go wait in the car.
You guys wait here for my sisters.
- These girls make me crazy.
If I could just
feel one of 'em up just once.
What?
We would never be sure
about the sequence of events.
We argue about it still.
Most likely Bonnie had died while
we were waiting in the living room...
dreaming of highways.
Mary put her head in the oven
shortly thereafter.
Therese, stuffed with sleeping pills,
was gone by the time we got there.
Lux was the last to go.
It's 4:00
on Sunday afternoon.
Do you know
where your children are?
Therese Lisbon.
a horse lover,
had written to the Brown University
admissions office...
Mary always wanted to be a cheerleader,
but her mother wouldn't let her.
This has been Lydia Perl
with Channel 8 News.
None of my daughters
lacked for any love.
There was plenty of love
in our house.
I never understood why.
After the suicide free-for-all,
Mr. and Mrs. Lisbon gave up any attempt
to lead a normal life.
They had Mr. Headley
pack up the house.
selling what furniture he could
in a garage sale.
Mr. Lisbon put the house
on the market.
and it was sold to a young couple
from Boston.
We, of course, took the family photos
that were put out with the trash.
In the end, we had pieces
of the puzzle,
but no matter how we put them together,
gaps remained...
oddly shaped emptiness
mapped by what surrounded them,
like countries
we couldn't name.
What lingered after them
was not life,
but the most trivial list
of mundane facts...
a clock
ticking on the wall,
a room dim at noon,
the outrageousness of a human being
thinking only of herself.
We began the impossible process
of trying to forget them.
Our parents seemed
better able to do this,
returning to their tennis foursomes
and cocktail cruises...
as though they'd
seen this all before.
It was full-fledged
summer again,
over a year from the time
Cecilia had slit her wrists,
spreading the poison
in the air.
A spill at the plant increased
the phosphates in the lake...
and produced a scum of algae so thick
that the swamp smell filled the air,
infiltrating
the genteel mansions.
Debutantes cried over the misfortune
of coming out...
in a season everyone would remember
for its bad smell.
The O'Conners. however.
came up with the ingenious solution...
of making the theme of their daughter
Alice's debutante party...
asphyxiation.
Like everyone else, we went to forget
about the Lisbon girls.
She'll give 'em a heart attack!
Hi, Parkie.
Al's got
the acting bug.
Caught it
from Pinkie.
And I want to
announce tonight...
next fall, Alice is going
to a little school in New Haven.
I hear they have a great
drama school there.
In fact, Stanley, I think
your father built it, didn't he?
- That's the law school.
We're so proud of Alice.
We really couldn't be prouder.
I've had it.
Good-bye, cruel world.
No, no, no!
You don't understand me!
I'm a teenager!
I got problems!
So much has been said
about the girls over the years.
But we have never
found an answer.
It didn't matter in the end
how old they had been...
or that they were girls,
but only that we
had loved them...
and that they hadn't
heard us calling,
still do not hear us calling them
out of those rooms...
where they went to be alone
for all time...
and where we will never find the pieces
to put them back together.
# I'm a high school lover #
# And you're my
favorite flavor #
# Love is all #
# Oh, my soul #
# You're my playground love #
# And my hands are shaking #
# I feel my body reeling #
# Time's no matter #
# I'm on fire #
# On the playground love #
# You're the piece of gold #
# Outflashes all my soul #
# Extra time #
# On the ground #
# You're my playground love #
# Anytime #
# Anywhere #
# You're my playground love ##