After Clarissa is given a class assignment to invent and market an environmentally safe product, she teams up with her mom to market Bouncy Balls- yummy health treats that bounce when they're dropped on the floor. The business doesn't work out so well when Clarissa feels left out of marketing process. Meanwhile, both Ferguson and Marshall have their tonsils removed.
Clarissa and Sam go to a party dressed as cool, hip, outrageous characters. Clarissa dons a wig, a tatoo, and a nose ring and decides to call herself Jade. At the party, she falls for a cute guy named Paulie. But Clarissa isn't sure if he's interested in her or the ficticious Jade. Meanwhile, Ferguson finds a stray cat who he names William F. Buckley and tries to hinder his parents from looking for the real owner.