“When Sammy departs, the party starts!” Buffy announced.

She balled up Samantha’s paper and tossed it into the sparkling wastebasket with Uncle Paul’s boots.

“Tonight is ladies’ night,” she continued. “And all of the Spinner girls will go to the theater together.”

“All?” said Dr. Spinner. “Your sister just left for Seattle.”

“Yes,” said Buffy. “ ‘All of the Spinner girls’ is so much better when it doesn’t include Samantha.”

“That’s a little unfair,” said Aunt Penny.

“Is it?” Buffy replied. “Don’t you think she puts a damper on fun? Like a three-hundred-foot misprinted flannel blanket that clashes with everything?”

“No, I don’t,” said Dr. Spinner firmly.

Buffy shot her a look, eyebrows raised.

“Well…I can agree that Samantha isn’t always the most cheerful person,” said Dr. Spinner.

Buffy raised her eyebrows even higher.

“Your sister is just fine when she isn’t power moping,” said her mother.

Buffy walked across the lobby and headed toward the living room.

“I’ve reserved the front row at my play tonight,” she called over her shoulder. “Crews have been working overtime to rebuild the sets. Scarlett Hydrangea’s Secret of the Nile is even better without clowns throwing pies and rubber pancakes.”

Buffy kept talking as she led her mother and aunt into the living room.

“We’ll get diamond pedicures during the intermission, and…”

Suddenly she became wistful. She turned to one of the room’s floor-to-ceiling windows and gazed out over the city.

“There are rainbow unicorns out there somewhere,” she said softly.

“I hate to interrupt you,” Dr. Spinner said, “but I have a question. It’s important.”

“Important?” Buffy shot back. “Nothing’s more important than unicorns.”

She walked to the piano and turned over the sparkly sheet music.

“From here on in, the focus is on the fabulous!” Buffy shouted. “We’ll get Broadway-star haircuts and shop for shoes that match our—”

“Buffy,” Dr. Spinner interrupted. “How do you ever find time to finish your schoolwork with all this fabulousness?”

Buffy opened her mouth to answer. Then she closed it.

“Her school had to shut down for the semester,” said Penny. “Didn’t you hear?”

“No, no, no,” said Buffy, waving at her aunt. “I didn’t want to bother her with that.”

“What happened exactly?” asked Dr. Spinner, raising one eyebrow suspiciously.

“Apparently, there was so much rain in California that they canceled school,” said Penny.

The color in Dr. Spinner’s cheeks started to change to bubble-gum pink.

“At…least…,” Penny continued slowly, “that’s what Buffy told…me…and…”

“Hollywood isn’t like Seattle, Mother,” Buffy said very quickly. “They have to watch out for the rain there. I just came here for a weekend. But when I heard there might be a storm in California, it didn’t make sense to travel all the way back to see if the weather changed.”

Dr. Spinner’s face turned beet red. She reached into her pocket and took out her phone.

“Now, wait, Mother,” said Buffy, watching her dial. “You don’t have to use your phone.”

Nervously, she looked back and forth between her aunt and mother.

“I’m getting a complete education right here,” Buffy said faster than before. “I’m studying art and high fashion. I’m learning the biology of unicorns—and the physics of shoe storage.”

Buffy raced across the living room and picked up her ibis scepter from the coffee table.

“And let’s not forget about my play,” she continued, waving the scepter. “I’m majoring in historical drama and licensed theater criticism. Not to mention mermaid wrangling, and all that marketing and promotion and…”

Dr. Spinner pointed two fingers at Buffy and made eye contact. She used her veterinarian stare at full power. It could have stopped 144 chinchillas in their tracks. Buffy froze.

“Hello,” her mom said into her phone. “Is this the theater?”

Buffy stayed frozen.

“This is Scarlett Hydrangea’s mother,” she said sternly. “Tell everyone to go home. The play is closed. Permanently.”