Monstercat University I

Chapter 002

[Dilumi's POV]

Not really knowing what to do during free period, I open the door to the gymnasium, where a bunch of people, including Veela, PIXL, Stonebank, and Charlotte Haining, are playing a heated game of basketball. I walk carefully around the edge and climb up to the top of the bleachers, where Anna is sitting and writing in a notebook. I hesitate a little, but she looks up and waves and smiles at me. Well, maybe she's gotten over the flashlight. Anna can be a mystery sometimes. "Hey Anna, watcha doing?" I ask.
"Working on some lyrics for Aero Chord," she says, showing me the notebook. I lean closer and read it out loud.
"Take their kingdom down and smash it to pieces. Turn their feet around, they will leave defeated. They will crumble at the sight of our legion. If you want the crown, then you've got to break them down. Nice!" I pull away, smiling.
"Thanks," Anna says, returning the notebook to her lap.
"Wait, why are you doing it in here?" We both look towards the game, and Anna shrugs. "This is where I'm inspired," she says, just as Charlotte Haining smashes into Draper. I giggle. "Watch where you're going, girl," Anna says, shaking her head and turning her attention back to the notebook. I'm going to leave her to work on this.
"Hey, do you know where Danyka is?" I ask her.
"Probably working on her track with Au5."
"Ok, well, see you later," I say, walking away.
"Bye!" I walk out of the gym and head back down the hall. My intention is to work on some of my tracks-in-progress in our dorm room, because I really have nothing else to do, and the other girls are all busy working on their stuff or playing basketball with the guys. I walk down the hall at a normal pace, but as soon as I stroll past the music room, I stop in my tracks and go back, putting my ear to the closed door. Someone is in there playing the piano...and dang, they're good. Whoever it is, I sure didn't know they could play that well. I wait until they're done playing the song, then I knock on the door. I hear the person stop for a couple seconds, then get up, and as their feet shuffle across the carpet, I pull back to a reasonable distance from the door. In a couple seconds, it opens a few inches, and my good friend Tristam pokes his head out. When he sees it's me, he smiles and opens the door all the way. He stands a few inches taller than me, and I come up to his eyebrows. "I-I didn't know you could play that well," I stammer.
Tristam shrugs. "I don't really tell anybody. I grew up playing the guitar, but I love this so much more." He pauses, then steps aside so I can come in, putting his hand up in an inviting gesture. Deciding to forgo my plans to work on my track and spend the time with Tristam instead, I step past the door, which is painted to look like piano keys, and take in the welcoming sight of the music room. We actually have two music rooms here, since music is what we do, but this one is my favorite. On one of the walls, which is painted a dull peachy orange, there are 2' square posters of the Monstercat album covers, 001 through 009. The grand piano is the centerpiece of the room, and there are acoustic and electric guitars hanging up on the other wall, which is painted a wine-red color. There are also wall sconces in the middle of each side wall, and speakers built into the back wall. In one corner there are a couple beige chairs with soft cushions and a black side table in between them. Sitting on top of the table is a can in which there are about a dozen pens, and next to that is a big stack of paper, which the artists use for writing information about their songs. Above the lounge area, there are music note wall hangings. In the back corner there is a drum set and a couple microphones, and a mixing table with a monitor sits in the opposite corner, near which someone has left their launchpad.
"Whose launchpad is that?" I ask Tristam as he returns to the piano bench.
"I don't know, probably Didrick's," he says. After wandering in a full circle around the room, I stand behind the piano and rest my elbows on the top, looking at Tristam. He looks up at me, and an amused sort of smile crosses his face. Dang, I love it when he does that.
"Play something for me," I say, smiling back at him.
"Okay," he says. "What's your favorite song of mine?"
"Uh...Once Again." It's not like glitch hop is one of my very favorite genres, but there is something about that song that just tears me up. Tristam nods and arranges his fingers on the keys, waiting a couple seconds before playing the opening chords. I close my eyes and sink into it. Soon, the melody comes in, and Tristam plays it cantabile so it stands out like his voice in the original song. The bass notes go in perfect rhythm. I walk around the piano so I can see Tristam's fingers, and get there just in time for the drop, at which he bangs down, increasing the volume greatly. His fingers glide across the keys impressively, and the interesting yet perfect mix of major chords takes me on a ride. I soon find myself swinging back and forth to the rhythm of the second verse and getting carried away as he plays, in octaves, that irresistible part that I love so much. I laugh when he plays an upwards glissando at the second drop and reach complete amazement when he plays a set of consecutive notes going downwards that are not in the original song right before the part where his vocals would come in again. Here he bangs down harder than before and plays a series of downwards glissandos scattered perfectly throughout the last part. At the end, he plays one bass note that sets the whole thing perfectly. After playing the very last three notes, which give me chills, he holds the pedal down and lets it fade out just like I like it, then turns to me. I just stand there dumbfounded with one hand over my mouth, staring wide-eyed at him. "Can you teach me that?" I request in a breathtaken voice.
"Sure," Tristam responds, sliding over on the bench to make room for me. I sit down eagerly next to him. He already knows that I play, and now I know that we have this in common. "I'm just going to teach you the core of the song, and then you can embellish it on your own, ok?"
"Okay," I respond.
"You're gonna start like this." He shows me the first few chords, which are pretty easy to learn. I grab a pen and paper and write them down one by one so I can remember them. Then we work on the melody and rhythm of the vocals. After I have that down, he teaches me the bass notes to go with it.
"You're picking up on this so easily," Tristam compliments me.
"Thanks," I smile. I do have a knack for learning things quickly. And this song is a lot easier than I thought, especially with Tristam to teach me.
"Now this is the climax," Tristam says. "It may seem hard at first, but it just takes practice. And I know you can do it." He's always so encouraging. He plays the right-hand part slowly a couple times so I can see what he's doing, then lets me try it. I start off slow and speed it up as I can. It does take a lot of practice to move my hands that fast and get them in the right place for the chords. But it's so fun to play.
"Nice, but curve your hands more," Tristam says after I've played through the climax a third time.
"Like this?"
"No, like this." Tristam puts his hand on top of mine and puts it in position. I kinda like the feel of his hand against mine.
"Oh, gotcha," I say. Suddenly the bell rings for 7th period.
"Electro," Tristam murmurs, getting up.
"Thank you so much," I say gratefully, smiling at him.
"Sure, anytime."