"What are we going to do today?" Dad asks.

"We could go see Thomas, Mallory, & the baby?" Mom suggests.

"And stop by my parents for brunch."

"Kacee, are you coming with us?"

"I don't know. There's this tricky part in Moonlight Sinata I really gotta master and you know letters were mailed Friday."

Juilliard. The audition was months ago, but I can still feel it in my fingers.

"Honey, look, who knows what time the mail's even gonna come today?" Mom reassures me.

"Come on, you gotta come with us." Dad begs.

"Come on, baby. Pretty soon you're gonna be off to college, no matter where you go. How many snow days are we gonna be able to spend together?"

"Mom, Dad, are you guys really using the guilt card on me right now?"

"We'll let you pick the music." Mom said.

"And the bribery card."

"Honey, guilt and bribery have held parents and teenagers together for years." Mom said.

"Don't fight tradition." Dad added.

"Fine!"

"BOOM!"

---

So it's gonna be forever, or it's gonna go down in flames
You can tell me when it's over, mmm
If the high was worth the pain
Gotta long list of star ex-lovers
They'll tell you I'm insane
'Cause you know I love the players
And you love the game
'Cause we're young & we're reckless
We'll take this way too far
It'll leave you breathless, mmm
Or with a nasty scar
Gotta long list of star ex-lovers
They'll tell you I'm insane
But I've got a blank space, baby
And I'll write your name

"I thought you said I could pick the music."

"Oh, yeah. She's right guys. Fire up the jams, sister."

"Let's hear something old-school." Dad said.

"How 'bout I kick out a few tunes from our favorite hit maker, MC Hammer?"

"Not that old-school."

"Iggy Azalea!" Addie shouted.

"Escape the Fate!" Jackson protested.

"Jackson & Addison, you can listen to your iPods." Mom says.

"And without further interruption, I bring to you Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart."

"Surprise."

---

I've always thought about if Mom & Dad were disappointed that I'm not more like them.

Itried.

I mean, Mom & I went to all of Dad's concerts when I was younger.

Dad's band was called Toxic Radiation.

Weird. I know.

They were what some people might call "big" in our town.

And for a while, everyone thought they might get bigger.

That was my childhood.

But one day in third grade, the school had a black Grand Piano in the music room.

"I want to play." I told my parents.

Pianos are crazy expensive.

So, I sometimes would stay after school & practice. Mrs. Bradley the music teacher graciously stayed & helped me.

And I rehearsed & rehearsed.

I couldn't get enough.

After the first week of Middle School, Dad came home & placed an electric piano in the living room.

A piano of my very own!

Isn't it amazing how life is one thing and then, in an instant, it becomes something else?

Like here I am, Kacee. The girl who thinks about the piano and CC and whether a letter is waiting for me at home.

And just like that...

---

I woke up on the recently laid snow.

"We need to stabilize her spine!"

Hello?

"We need a gurney!"

Excuse me! Sir, excuse me! Hello? Mom. Dad! Jack! Addie!

"We need to stabilize her leg."

"Yeah."

"Do you wanna get a tube in her now?"

"Just grab the Ambu bag for right now."

No! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!

"Go on three! One, two, three!"

"Let's move!"

"Her Glasgow Coma's at a seven. Tell Vanderbilt to have a trauma team ready."

Glasgow Coma? Why do you need a trauma team?

"One female, late teens, critical, en route to Vanderbilt now. Two 12-year-olds, One female, One male. 12-year-old female is conscious."

Mom. Dad! Jack! Addie!

"Let's go, Tom."

"Hang in there, baby. We'll be in Nashville soon."

Notes

The song that was used was Blank Space by Taylor Swift. Credit goes to her!