and she was going to dye her hair coral red and star in the little mermaid in the lead role of ariel , and at the end take the biggest and most graceful curtain curtsy of all time , and after the thunderous applause she was going to greet her young theatergoing fans after the show and sign all their programs and smile for camera-phone pictures with them-and then , one very special night , she was going to select the most polite and sincere nine-year-old girl in the audience and invite her to be her understudy and best friend forever .