"YEAH, WELL, I DON'T LIKE THIS, AND YOU'RE STILL DOING PRESS. THE TONIGHT SHOW TAPES NEXT WEDNESDAY, BY THE WAY. NADINE IS PREPARING THE REST OF YOUR SCHEDULE AS WE SPEAK BECAUSE IT'S GOING TO BE REALLY BUSY AND YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO JUGGLE BOTH KAITLIN, NO ..."

"Laney?" I hear a dial tone.

I lie down again and pull the soft down comforter over my head. Just as I close my eyes, the door creaks open.

"Kaitlin, get up."

It's Liz. She pulls my warm down blanket off me.

"Hey," I say, yawning. "What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here? What are you doing in bed? We have a ton of work to do!" Liz sits down next to me, bouncing on the mattress. "You said you wanted to go shopping."

"Yeah, but Fred Segal doesn't open till ten," I gripe.

"Fred Segal? You aren't wearing anything from Fred Segal," Liz corrects me, jumping up. "Nadine is out at Discount World right now picking some clothes up."

"Discount World?" I bite my lip. "I didn't know Discount World sells ... clothes."

"Yep, apparently so." Liz rummages for my robe in my still-packed luggage. She finds it and pulls it out. "Here, throw this on. Everyone is waiting downstairs. We're going to create the new you."

Wow, for people who wanted no part of my idea, they sure got on board quickly. I throw on the green robe and slide into my fuzzy slippers. I can't help smiling.

"What are you grinning at?" Liz asks.

"You. Laney. Mom. You're ... all... so ..."

"So ...?"

"Supportive," I say. "I guess I'm just surprised."

"We just don't want you to fall on your face," Liz explains bluntly.

"Well, thanks, I think," I say wryly.

As we walk downstairs, I can hear the commotion already. Paul's loud voice can be heard over everyone.

"NO ... NO GOOD ... NOPE. UGH ... TOO PAMELA ANDERSON."

Liz and I walk into the kitchen and see Shelly holding up several wigs. Paul and my mom are standing on the other side of the glass table nixing them one by one. Wigs, clothes, makeup, and hair supplies clutter the tile floor and marble kitchen island. The group sees me standing there and looks up.

"Hi, sweetie," Mom chirps. She looks at her watch. "Wow, you really slept late this morning."

"It's nine-thirty," I protest.

"We've been down here an hour already."

I look at Liz. She rolls her eyes and yawns without covering her mouth. That's when I notice Liz is still in her comfy white drawstring karate pants. She only wears those to class or bed.

"Your mom called us all last night," Shelly explains. She looks amused, her round gray eyes twinkling. "She told us about your emergency."

"Well, it certainly is an emergency, isn't it, sweetie?" Mom grabs my arm and leads me towards the stool by Paul. She's wearing a pink PB&J Couture sweat suit and looks a little flushed. "We don't want you to make a fool of yourself next week," she adds.