Bill Wintersole

Dr. Kessler, the family dentist, tells Shirley that Laurie will have to wear braces. Laurie isn't in the best of moods when Shirley breaks the news because her boyfriend, Jerry, was supposed to ask her to go steady that day, but lost his nerve. After hearing about the braces, Laurie is sure Jerry will never ask her. The next day, Laurie returns from the dentist with her mouth full of metal. She broods in her room, refusing to speak unless it's absolutely necessary and then only with her hand over her mouth. Meanwhile, Reuben shows up...proudly announcing that he's set up an appearance on the nationwide Wink Burgess TV show, which will be taped the following day. The thought of being on coast-to-coast television horrifies Laurie, but she agrees to do the show. The next day, Wink Burgess and his entire crew arrive for the taping. When Burgess tells Laurie to smile for the camera, she storms out of the house in tears and hides in the bus. Jerry, who's been hanging around, mustering his courage, joins her, and before she says a word, asks her to go steady. Again, Laurie bursts into tears and runs back to the house leaving poor Jerry completely baffled. When everyone is ready for a final rehearsal before the taping, Laurie unsmilingly takes her place at the piano. They start playing but only get past the first few bars because Laurie is playing off-key. Fortunately, Dr. Kessler is there and explains that Laurie's braces are picking up nearby radio signals, causing her to play off-key. Immediately, everyone rushes outside to find out who's playing a radio -- everyone except Laurie. Then Jerry comes in and Laurie hears his radio; she's so surprised that she forgets to cover her mouth and Jerry sees her braces. After he tells her that it won't change his feelings, Laurie smiles and is her old self again.