By the time Cleo left Monster High after an hour of extra practice with Draculaura, she was buzzing with excitement. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of giving her mother a makeover sooner! After all, Dedyet de Nile had practically been buried for years, so she probably desperately needed someone to advise her on how fashion and makeup and hairstyles had evolved while she’d been under wraps on her dig.

Surely Cleo’s mother hadn’t made a conscious choice to wear the jeans and linen outfit and the awful hairstyle she had arrived in. She just didn’t know any better! Cleo couldn’t wait to restore her mother to her former luster—just like one of the antiques in the de Nile palace! If the two of them worked hard, her mom could be back to her old self before the welcome-home ball, and no one would ever have to see the less-than-glamorous relic Cleo’s mother had become during her time away.

Cleo couldn’t wait to help fix all her mom’s problems!

But as she rushed across the Monster High lawn to get home to her mother, Cleo spotted Clawdeen Wolf hustling out of one of the side doors of the school. Clawdeen looked monstrously stressed. “Clawdeen,” Cleo called out to her fashionable ghoulfriend. “I’ve been looking for you for days. You’ve missed lunch three times now, which means you’ve missed my absolutely golden news.”

Clawdeen took a deep breath. “I’ve had a lot going on the last few days,” she said. “Family stuff.”

“I have exciting family news too,” Cleo said, momentarily oblivious to Clawdeen’s stressed-out expression. “My mother has returned home after a very extended absence, and my family will be having a ball to welcome her home this weekend. You are, of course, invited.”

“That’s clawesome, Cleo,” Clawdeen said a bit distractedly. “I can’t wait to meet her.”

Cleo tilted her head to one side. Something was off about her ghoulfriend, but she wasn’t sure what. “Aren’t you going to ask me if you can design my dress for the event?”

Clawdeen sighed. “Does that mean you want me to design your dress for the ball?”

“I would be willing to give you the honor,” Cleo replied with a grin.

“You know I’d love to—” Clawdeen began.

“Then it’s settled,” Cleo broke in. “I’d like something gold, perhaps with some hints of green—”

Clawdeen shook her head. “You didn’t let me finish. I was going to say that I’d love to help, but I’m totally swamped with a project for my sister right now. Clawdia has a big book-launch party she’s going to, and I promised I’d make her something creeperific to wear. I’ve been working on designing her dress for a week, but I just can’t find the right fabric in my supplies or at the fabric store. Between the dress problem and my soccer tournament last weekend and family visiting from out of town this week and a Clawculus exam tomorrow, I just don’t think I’ll have time to design something that will live up to your standards right now. I’m so sorry, Cleo, but I’m sure you can find something creeperific at Neiman Monstrous.”

“You want me to buy a dress off the rack? Not going to happen,” Cleo said, shuddering. Unwilling to take no for an answer, Cleo said, “Can I see the design for Clawdia’s dress?”

Clawdeen shifted her things in her arms and pulled out a sketchbook. She opened it to the back pages and showed Cleo the design-in-progress. “I was hoping to find a shimmery fabric, but the problem is, I need something that will also drape well. Clawdia looks great in navy, but I was also considering gold.” Clawdeen paused for a moment to grin at Cleo. “You can never go wrong with gold, right?”

“Never,” Cleo agreed. She studied Clawdeen’s sketch for another moment, then said, “I think I might have something you could use! Why don’t you come over to my house and take a look in my closet? I have a dress I wore last year that might work perfectly for this. It’s totally last-season, so I’ll never wear it again. You’re welcome to repurpose the fabric for your design if it would work.”

“I’ve looked everywhere, and I think the fabric I need doesn’t exist… but it’s worth a shot!” Clawdeen said.

“You haven’t looked everywhere until you’ve looked in my closet,” Cleo replied, linking her arm through Clawdeen’s.

When the two ghouls arrived at the de Nile palace, Cleo quickly led Clawdeen straight upstairs. They didn’t stop to ask the servants to prepare them a snack, instead rushing through the palace hallways and making their way directly to Cleo’s room.

As Clawdeen pawed through Cleo’s closet full of old dresses, she said, “Is your mother home now? I’d love to meet her if she is. Maybe—if I can get Clawdia’s dress done in time—I could try to design something clawesome for both of you to wear to the event. I’d love to meet her and see what would best suit her.”

“Oh,” Cleo said, biting her lip. “She’s, um… not home right now. She’s at the salon, getting a deep condition. See, she’s been on this archaeological dig, and the tomb air really dried out her hair.” The lie just slipped out. Of course Cleo was excited to introduce her mother to her Monster High ghoulfriends, but she really wanted to wait until she’d had a chance to make her over first. The big reveal would have so much more impact if she were restored to her former luster!

Eager to change the subject, Cleo grabbed the dress she had been thinking of off the hanger. “Here it is,” she said to Clawdeen. “Don’t you think this material would be perfect for Clawdia’s dress?”

Clawdeen rubbed the fabric between her thumb and forefinger. The soft, shimmery satin was exactly what she had been searching for. “Are you sure about this, Cleo? This dress is beautiful, and it would be ruined if I cut it up to make Clawdia’s dress!”

Cleo waved her hand dismissively. “I’m absolutely positive. This dress is beautiful, but I just don’t see myself wearing it ever again. Putting the fabric to good use on one of your creeperific designs is much better than letting it get dusty inside my closet. If you can use the fabric, it’s yours.” As she led Clawdeen back to the front door of the palace, Cleo added, “And if you need a model to try it on for you before you send it to Clawdia, you know where to find me. I always like to be the first to wear new fashions, you know.”

“Oh, I know,” Clawdeen said with a laugh. “Thanks again, Cleo.”

Moments after she had closed the door behind her ghoulfriend, Cleo heard her mother’s voice from inside the study. “Is that you, Cleo, dear?”

Cleo made her way to the study, where she found her mom hunched over a pile of old-looking books. Cleo’s mother looked up from the desk, her hair and glasses askew. “Hi, Mom,” Cleo said. “How was your day?”

“Good, good. Your father has been helping me catalog some of our antiques,” her mother said. “We’ve been having so much fun digging through some of our oldest treasures. We have decided to send a few important pieces to a museum in Boo York—they’re extremely grateful for the loan.” Cleo’s mother pushed her glasses up, then tilted her head to the side. “Did I hear someone else’s voice in the entryway? That wasn’t one of your Monster High ghoulfriends, was it?”

“Actually, it was,” Cleo said. “Clawdeen Wolf is a fashion designer. I’m helping her with a piece she’s making for her sister.”

“Why didn’t you introduce me?” her mother asked. “I would love to meet some of your friends from school.”

“About that,” Cleo said, feeling just the slightest bit nervous all of a sudden. “I was thinking—don’t you want to look your best before you meet my ghoulfriends?”

Her mother frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I just mean…” Cleo began, eager to see her mother’s reaction to the makeover idea. “Well, I’ve had an idea—what do you think about my giving you a makeover?”

“A makeover?” Cleo’s mother repeated, frowning even more deeply.

“Yes!” Cleo said, clapping her hands excitedly. “I’ll get an appointment at my favorite salon for you to get your hair done—highlights, lowlights, a fresh cut, the works. Then we can set up a meeting with my stylist to put your wardrobe back in order. And, of course, we should stop at the spa for skin treatments and mani-pedis. We can even invite Nefera, if you insist. Afterward, I’ll help you do your makeup, and we can get rid of some of your dusty, old dig wardrobe. Out with the old, in with the new!”

Dedyet de Nile raked one unmanicured hand through her hair. “I see.”

Cleo’s smile faded. “You see? See what?”

“Are you embarrassed to introduce me to your ghoulfriends, Cleo?” her mother asked. “Is that what you’re saying?”

“No!” Cleo insisted. “I just thought you might want to fix yourself up before you meet everyone. You never get a second chance for a first impression. And if your first impression here in the Boo World is… well, this…” She gestured to her mother’s outfit and hair and makeup-free face.

Cleo’s mother nodded seriously. “It’s not the impression I ought to be making. Is that what you think?”

“Exactly,” Cleo said, relieved that her mother agreed. “But we’ll get you fixed up in no time. I can’t wait to help unwrap your true beauty!”

“So… you would be happy to help me change who I’ve become?” Cleo’s mom asked.

“Of course! We’ll restore you back to your most beautiful self in no time.”

Cleo’s mother looked at her daughter for a long moment. When she finally spoke again, her voice was soft but firm. “I’m sorry you feel this way, Cleo. But I’m happy with who I am.”

“You mean you’re happy with these clothes and this hairstyle?” Cleo asked, her eyes wide with disbelief.

Her mom chuckled as she looked down at her plain pants and wrinkled shirt. “I guess I am happy with my clothes. And my hair too, now that you mention it. I can see how this might be hard for you to digest at first, but those things don’t matter very much to me anymore. Can you understand that?”

Even though what her mother was telling her was somewhat shocking to hear, Cleo realized that she was totally fine with it. “Of course I can understand that,” she said honestly. “I didn’t mean to make you think I don’t like you as you are. I really thought maybe you just needed… some help getting back to the way you used to be. But if you’re happy, then I’m happy. I really am just glad you’re back.”

Cleo’s mother’s face broke into a beautiful smile. “Thank you for understanding, Cleo. I am so glad I’m back too.” She reached out and touched her daughter’s cheek. “You are very glamorous, and that’s wonderful because it makes you happy. I know I am not very glamorous anymore, but I feel good about myself. As long as we are both happy with ourselves, that’s all that really matters, right?”

Cleo knew her mother was right. And for the first time since she had returned home, she felt as if her mom was truly back.