"Which is why I want to cover all our bases," Mom says stiffly. "That's why I made the next appointment."

"What appointment?" Seth and I say at the same time again.

"Mom, I have to meet Liz in an hour," I moan. "You knew that."

"Kate-Kate, I was not about to pass up a meeting with TJ from Jay Street Records because you're meeting Liz to go shopping," Mom tells me." Tell Liz you'll be there when you can."

"Mom, you have to stop booking things for me and not telling me!" I complain. I'm not sure what to freak out over first -- the fact that Mom is ruining the first date I've had with Liz since before Christmas or the fact that I'm being forced to see a famed record producer, which I do not want to do.

I've never met TJ before, but I know all about him. He goes by just TJ. His first name is Troy, but no one seems to know what his last name is or if it even starts with the letter J. He's this musical whiz kid. He had his first triple-platinum album at seventeen, started his own label at nineteen, pillaged a rival label's clients at twenty and now at twenty-two has arguably one of the best music catalogs in town. He's also known for his hard-partying ways. How he gets any work done is beyond me. There's not a night that man isn't photographed on the town.

"Mom, I am not going to have a music career," I say, my voice rising. "I have no interest. None whatsoever. Tell TJ we're not coming."

"Give us one good reason you shouldn't be a crossover star?" Mom says calmly. "You have the look, you're the right age, and you've got a decent voice. With TJ behind you, your sound could be great."

"Kaitlin doesn't want to cut an album," Seth interjects angrily. "She's told us that on several occasions. And besides which, if she did want to do one, I would have set up the meeting, Meg, not you. How could you do this without telling me?"

"I am not making an album!" I say over their raised voices. "You can't make me do it!"

Why won't anyone listen to me? I feel like a caged animal being held against my will. My face feels hot, and not just because I'm angry, and I'm having a hard time breathing normally. I feel a knot in my neck start to scream again in protest. Not another headache! I reach into my bag for my diminishing bottle of Tylenol. "See what the stress is doing to me, Mom?" I want to yell.

My hands are shaking, but while Mom and Seth argue, I quickly text Liz. When she doesn't respond right away, I call her phone and it goes straight to voicemail. "Liz, if you get this, I might be late. Mom is forcing me to go to a meeting that she never told me about. I'm so sorry. I'll tell you more when I see you. I'll get there as soon as I can."