Monstercat University I

Chapter 015

[Dilumi's POV]

"I think that's so cool how it ends on the minor chord," I say, playing the last Eb Minor and then the last three notes of Once Again and letting it fade off at the end.
"Yeah. Thanks. You're doing great with it." Tristam smiles at me.
"Thank you so much. It was fun learning it."
"Well...I should get back to my dorm before the podcast is over," Tristam says.
"Me too." We walk to the doorway together, and I turn to bid him farewell, although it is clear neither of us want to leave. "I'll see you later," I say. Tristam, leaning against the doorframe, waves to me. I turn back to leave, taking a few steps forward before he calls me again.
"Dilumi. Wait." Just as I start to rotate back, Tristam spins me around by my shoulder, and my lips crash into his. I suck in my breath and tense up a little at first, but presently I close my eyes and let myself relax into his embrace. The hand that grabbed my shoulder slides down and takes my hand, and I wrap my other arm around his neck. Then everything is still, and for a few timeless moments, we stand, unmoving, as one.
Suddenly, a piercing camera shutter sound shatters the silence. Tristam and I both pull away forcefully as we look to see who or what emitted the sound. That's when I see her standing about ten feet away. The look on her face is momentarily one of shock, which quickly transitions into a devious smile. Her purple hair drapes around her face, shadowing her features, and the glow from her phone as she holds it close to her face only succeeds in making her look ten times more sinister. "VEELA!!!" I scream, darting towards her. Normally I tower over her short body, but man, her little legs can run fast. Forgetting about Tristam, I chase after her as fast as I can go. I only catch up with her once she is in our dorm, sitting on the bottom bunk, her phone still held close to her face. Gosh, what is she doing? She won't delete the picture herself, so I grab the phone from her so I can do it, and she gives it to me surprisingly easily. It's actually kind of a cute picture. But goodness knows what she would do with it. "You could be a photographer," I mutter in spite of everything as I toss the phone back to her. "Now don't you dare tell anyone, you hear?" I walk out of the room and run back up to where Tristam and I were, but he is nowhere to be seen, and the halls are now filled with artists coming out of the auditorium. I fall into the current of loud talkers, which swiftly carries me to the dining hall. I feel someone poke me in the back and turn around.
"Hey Dilumi!" Muzzy sneers. Oh gosh, he can get annoying. What does he want now? "Where's Tristam? I thought you'd be with him!" What the heck?! How does he...
"Wha-" I start to say, but before I can get anything out, the evilly laughing Muzzy disappears back into the crowd. I have to keep going to stay in rhythm with the fast-moving swarms of artists, and I'm already getting scowls from a few for slowing down. I finally make it into the busy dining hall, where everyone empties out. I start to walk over to the line to get my food.
"Hey Dilumi!" I hear from a table close to me. I turn and see WRLD, who is just sitting down. He makes a heart shape with his hands and mouths Tristam's name. What on earth?? Did Veela tell that many people already?! Half the school is going to know! Stuff spreads like wildflowers around here. But how could it have gotten around this quickly? Seeing my confused expression, WRLD begins to laugh with Grant Bowtie and Laszlo, who are sitting next to him. I walk over to the table and put my hands on the edge, leaning over a little and staring WRLD straight in the eye.
"Don't you dare tell anyone," I hiss. He laughs again.
"Everyone already knows, there's no point," he chuckles. Okay...just stay calm, I tell myself, walking over and joining the line. I stand behind Charlotte Haining, who is busy on her phone and seems not to notice me. Suddenly, I hear her gasp, and she slowly turns around, staring at me with a lit-up expression on her face and holding up the phone for me to see.
"That's so cute!" Charlotte squeals. Oh great, it's the picture of Tristam and I. Veela must have sent it to her. Then I see the caption above it: '@TristamOfficial x @DilumiMusic IT'S TRUE!!!' Oh. My. Gosh. It's on Twitter. Veela. How dare she. She must have posted it while I was chasing her. As Charlotte turns back around, I sink into reality as it slowly pours into my mind, engulfing me like quicksand. This is ruined now. Everyone knows. And now Tristam is going to be made fun of too. I should never have said those ten words. Do you ever want us to be more than friends. I catch a glimpse of Veela coming through the doorway. We lock eyes for a second, and then she quickly looks down. I thought I was friends with her. How could she do this to me? How could she betray me so easily?! I realize that I don't really know her. I look at the floor, resting my forehead on my hand. I'm so close to tears, for more than one reason.
"Hey, there's a line here! Get a move on!" I look up to see Rich Edwards, scowling at me. He's just being cranky because Hellberg isn't here. Exactly what I needed right now. I can't take this anymore. I just need to be alone. I run across the room, dodging other artists and tables, and out the double doors, down the hall, and into a smaller little hallway, where I sit against the wall and let the tears come. Suddenly I feel a hand on my shoulder and look up into the gentle and concerned face of Laura Brehm. Man, am I glad she's here. She says nothing but pulls me straight into a hug. I lean into her, bawling into her shoulder.
"I'm sorry this happened to you," she says finally. I sniff.
"I wish I never loved him," I say shakily, tears still running down my face.
"Oh, you don't mean that! Everything will be okay. Trust me."
"How do you know?"
"Look, I've been through this, girl. You will go through tough spots. That's just part of it. But you'll get through it, I promise. Was that, like, your first kiss?" she asks, grinning.
"Y-Yeah..."
"Then you should be happy!" she says, patting me on the shoulder.
"But I-I didn't want everybody to k-know!"
"I understand. When The Fij and I started dating, we didn't want anybody to know either. But now we're so happy together, and no one makes fun of us anymore. I'm sorry it had to happen this way. But it's just a phase. They'll let go of it eventually, trust me. Besides, the only reason they tease you is because they're jealous. If you react to it, they'll get what they want. You've got to hold your head high. And hey, have fun while it lasts."
"O-Okay..." I stammer, still a little unsure.
"Come on, I'll help you through this. We can do it together," Laura says, helping me up and smiling. "Girl power!" she says, fist-bumping me. I laugh, and we put our arms around each other, walking back towards the dining hall. I'm so glad Laura came to comfort me. She is such a compassionate friend. Sometimes, all we need is somebody to lean on.