Monstercat University I

Chapter 004

[Anna's POV]

     I'm chilling in Danyka and Laura's dorm room with Dilumi and Laura, who are watching videos on Laura's laptop while I do a Sudoku puzzle. Veela and Danyka haven't shown up yet. On Friday nights, we girls like to meet in one room and do something together, or just hang out and chat. We have a little friendship circle between us. Suddenly we hear the doorknob turn, and all three of us look up as Danyka trudges in with a big sigh. She stops short in front of her bed, spreading her arms out, and falls on it face-first, making it bounce. "Gosh, Danyka, what's wrong?" Laura asks.
     "Just tired," Danyka says, getting up and sitting on the bed. I wouldn't be surprised. "Well, Astronaut got me into another collab," she announces.
     "What is it?" Dilumi inquires.
     "It's electro," Danyka replies. "That's all I know at this point. And, as usual, I have to write the lyrics. But at least they said not to rush."
     "Phew. So that's four now?" I chime in. "That's quite enough at once."
     "Well...actually...five," Danyka says, sounding reluctant.
     "Are you serious?!" Laura bursts out.
     "WHAT???" Dilumi yells.
     "I can just imagine the headlines: 'Danyka Nadeau Takes Over Monstercat 020'," I joke. Dilumi giggles, and Danyka rolls her eyes.
     "Who's the fifth?" Laura asks curiously.
     "Nitro Fun," Danyka says, grabbing a pillow from behind her and toying with it.
     "I swear, girl, you just don't know how to say no sometimes," I sigh.
     "I couldn't, it was Nitro Fun," Danyka says plainly, hugging the pillow to her chest.
     "What do you mean?"
     "I don't know...he just...I couldn't," Danyka shrugs.
     "Do you like him?" Dilumi asks, smirking a little. It's clear Danyka wasn't expecting this. She turns red and opens her mouth slowly.
     "Wh-what do you mean?"
     "I mean, do you like him," Dilumi persists.
     "I-I-"
     "YOU DO!!!" I yell, pointing a finger at Danyka and grinning.
     "N-no!!!" Danyka stammers. "No I don't! I-I just couldn't say no because he said my voice was really nice and he didn't think anyone else could do it and-"
     "Ooh, he likes you too," Dilumi teases, just as Veela walks in.
     "What's this all about?" she inquires immediately. Veela always wants the latest scoop on everything and can't stand a secret being kept from her.
     "Danyka and Nitro Fun like each other," Dilumi says, a huge grin on her face. Perfect opportunity.
     "Oohhh, not so fast girl, I see you're sitting with Tristam now," I challenge Dilumi. Her grin quickly fades, and her cheeks turn bright red.

[Dilumi's POV]

     Oh crap, here we go again. I thought I was so clever. I never thought teasing Danyka would backfire. I really wish I didn't blush so easily. "We-we're just friends, you know that," I reply to Anna, trying to keep my cool. And really, Tristam and I are just friends. But there's some part of me deep down that wants it to be more. Whether or not he feels the same way, I don't know. But if I know one thing, it's never to let it show to any of the dorks who share my dorm. I've learned that I can't so much as mention a guy's name without them teasing me. And this is no exception.
     "Then explain that time just a few hours ago," Veela says, "when you guys were sitting side by side in the music room and he put his hand on yours..." Dang it, Veela sees everything! And now everybody knows. Suddenly I realize the door was still open the whole time Tristam and I were in there. Anybody could have seen us. Crap. There are some moments when I just feel like snuggling into that hoodie of Braken's and not giving a darn.
     "Aww, that's so CUTE!" Danyka screams.
     "Yeah, you're one to talk, Danyka," Anna shoots at her, giving her a slight wink.
     "You and Tristam," Laura says dreamily, turning to me and making a heart with her hands.
     "Sh-shut up guys! We're just friends, nothing more!" I slur, shaking my head at the same time. I probably said it a bit too loud. Thankfully, the conversation stops after that as Veela sits down. Everyone besides me has a smirk of some degree on their face, including Danyka, but I can tell she's just doing it to cover her own embarrassment.
     "Well, what should we do?" Anna asks.
     "I'm making some cookies," Laura announces in her sweet voice.
     "Ooh, yum!" I say eagerly. I love cookies.
     "I thought I smelled something good," Danyka says, kind of timidly. I guess she's a little afraid to say anything after all the teasing she got.
     "What kind?" asks Veela.
     "They're chocolate chip. They should be almost done by now." Laura slides off the bed in her black leggings and long orange vest, walking into the kitchen area. One awesome and unique thing about our dorm rooms is that Anna, Veela, and I share a kitchen with Danyka and Laura. The kitchen subtly connects our dorms, but of course the doors to each dorm room can be locked from inside.
     "Let's play a game," Veela says eagerly.
     "You come up with the worst games, Veela," Danyka groans, shaking her head.
     "What's wrong with them?"
     "They're too embarrassing," Danyka says.
     "That's exactly why they're fun," Veela smirks. Just then, Laura walks in with a big plate of about one and a half dozen chocolate chip cookies. "Yum!" Veela says, reaching towards the plate.
     "Here," Anna says, getting up and pulling out the side table from the corner, on which Laura sets the cookies.
     "Thanks, Anna."
     "Sure. They look good," Anna compliments, grabbing one before sitting down. Everyone sits in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the cookies.
     "Let's play a game called Try Not To Laugh," Veela says, getting up and smirking.
     "Oh, crap! I'm horrible at that!" I say, but I can't help smiling.
     "Oh no," Danyka mutters.
     "Oh yes," says Veela. "But we're gonna play it backwards, so to speak. So here's how we do it. Each person has five minutes to try and make the other people laugh or grin. If you do so, you're out. The person that gets the most people out in five minutes wins." Anna claps her hands. Well, she's excited. "But first, we have two minutes to all go off on our own and figure out how we're going to do it. There will be no collaborating. Alright, GO!" Veela snaps her fingers. Crap, I'm horrible at trying to make people laugh. These kinds of contests usually just end in my embarrassment. I've got to think of something I could say or do that would hit the other girls in their soft spots. I look around to see what they're all doing. Anna is sitting on the couch in thought, Danyka is fishing inside a backpack in the corner, and Laura is on her phone.
     "Veela, can we use videos?" Laura asks.
     "Yep, you can do anything," Veela says. Oh, perfect. Thanks, Laura. I could use this hilarious video that I found the other day about Siri trying to kill someone...but that might not make everybody laugh. I try to think of something that has always made me laugh no matter what, and Dude Perfect comes to mind. I love their videos, and the Gym Stereotypes one cracked my mom and I up. "Alright, time's up!" Veela shouts.