Isabella snuck in the back entrance to the hotel and hurried to her room. She didn't want to risk running into anyone from her so-called family. She knew she just wouldn't be able to handle seeing them. She went to her answering machine to play back any messages she'd gotten. Nothing. Of course. Who'd want to call her? She layed down on her bed, and soon she was asleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The next few days she never had any chance to talk to Max and Liz. She really needed to know if they'd come up with a plan, though, because the signup deadline was only two days away and The Whits would be arriving in three days!

Isabella finally decided she couldn't wait any longer. She snuck out of the room she was supposed to be cleaning, and went down to the front desk, where Liz was working for the day.

"Liz, can we talk?" asked Isabella. "You know…about you and Max helping me."

"Sure," said Liz, looking around to see if anyone would need her assistance while she was gone. "We'd better make it fast. If Amy sees up both on a break, she'll kill us."

Isabella lead her into a cramped little private office. "Liz, have you and Max come up with anything?"

"Yes, we have. We already did some stuff to help you."

"Really? What?"

"We got you signed up for the auditions."

"How? Amy would just rip up any signup form with my name on it."

"Exactly. Which is why Max and I came up with a new name for you."

"Uh oh," said Isabella. "This doesn't sound like a great idea."

"No, no, trust us. Amy is so not onto you."

"What's my new name?"

"Star."

"Star?"

"Yup."

"Do I have a last name?"

"Nope. You're like Madonna…just one name. You're just Star."

"Ok, but how is this going to work? As soon as I get up to sing, Maria, Tess, and Amy are going to drag me off the stage."

"Not if they can't tell it's you that's singing."

"What? You mean…"

"Yup. A disguise. We need to go out and buy you a wig and some new clothes. Maybe some sunglasses to wear while you sing."

"No! I'm not wearing sunglasses while I sing, Liz!"

"Fine. Contacts. We'll get contacts to change your eye color. We have to make you look like a totally different girl."

Isabella sighed in defeat. "Ok," she said. "It's the only plan we've got. I just hope this works."

"It will. We should go out and buy your disguise tonight. Max can help too."

"Ok."

"Liz! Isabella! Where are you two?" they heard Amy yell. "Get back to work you lazy, good for nothing…" her voice faded away as she walked away from where the girls were. They snuck out of the office and went back to work, thinking about what type of disguise to get.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Max pulled up to the Sagebrush and waited for Isabella to come out. After a few minutes she came running out.

"Step on it!" she said. "Tess is onto me, she knows I'm leaving. If I get caught I'll be dead."

Max did as she asked and got out of there quickly. He drove to four blocks to Liz's house in record time. She came to the jeep and got in. "This is going to be great," she said to Isabella.

"Yeah, I'm getting excited. I just can't wait to see what the new me, I mean Star, will look like!"

Max drove them to the mall and parked. They all piled out of the jeep and entered the hustle and bustle of the late evening shoppers.

They started walking and then Liz and Max stopped in front of a piercing and tattoo shop. Isabella realized where they were and shook her head.

"Uh, guys, what kind of disguise are you getting me? Cause I'm not really into pain…"

"Don't worry," said Max. "We though that you'd need to disguise your face more. With a piercing. Fake of course."

"Yeah," said Liz. "How do you feel about a nose ring?"

"Uh, not too good. But if you guys think it'll be good for me, ok. Let's get me a fake nose ring."

They walked in and started to look at the selection. "I like this one," Isabella finally said. She paid for it and they went to a Walgreens to get contacts and hair dye, because there wasn't a wig shop in the mall.

"I'll help you dye it right before the auditions," said Liz. "You'd look good as a brunette."

"Ok," said Isabella, picking out a shade of brown. She also got contacts to make her eyes green. They went to several clothing stores until they found the perfect outfit for Isabella. Black leather pants and a low neck purple tank top that was cinched in the front. Liz decided that Isabella needed to go all out and get leather boots with spike heels, which Max and Liz graciously bought for her.

As they got back in the jeep with all of Isabella's purchases, Liz said, "Isabella, you're going to knock Alex Whitman right off his feet!"