Monstercat University I

Chapter 017

[Dilumi's POV]

     My eyes snap wide open. Holy cow! I could play Snowblind after Coffins! I almost forgot about Snowblind, but it's my favorite track from Endeavour, so it would be great to support Au5 by playing it. I chuckle at the fact that sudden ideas like this have the ability to wake me up. I roll out of bed, put my headphones on, sit down at the desk and start up my system. It's pitch-black, but the light from the screen is enough to illuminate my paper with the list of song titles on it. Man, I'm lucky my headphones drown out the sound of fire trucks in the distance, because that could get annoying. I can either fit Snowblind into the end of Coffins or into the second drop. Then somehow I can make Young and Free come in from that...but it's a way faster tempo so I might speed Snowblind up just before it. So many possibilities. I like to play mostly Monstercat stuff (especially since I'm doing this set only for the Monstercat artists and fans) and then throw some other headliners in for fun. I wonder if I can make a Skrillex drop come in completely unexpected. That'll get the crowd going. After dwelling on the middle of the set for a while, my mind wanders to the WulfX remix of Rave Forever. I'd love to play that, and it would help me get some happy hardcore in. It would actually be a great song to open with. I remember how I found Rave Forever on the YouTube sidebar when I was listening to This Is Forever. Actually, those two songs wouldn't be too bad together if I knock the BPM of Rave Forever down a lot. Maybe I could even put the vocals of Rave Forever into the instrumental of This Is Forever, make the vocals alternate back and forth, then go into the climax of This Is Forever. I love mashing stuff up like this, and this would be perfect. A huge smile crosses my face, and suddenly I know exactly how I'm going to open my set. After a lot of scribbling notes down, downloading stuff, putting stuff into folders, and making sure transitions will sound good, I finally finish one last thing and lean back in my chair. I've finished preparing for my set, and I have the whole tracklist down on my paper. I've probably been overthinking things way too much, but I hope it works. I look at the clock and realize that I've been up for two hours. And staring at the bright screen for that long has given me a headache. I shut my system down, take some ibuprofen for my headache, and climb back into bed. I have This Is Forever stuck in my head now. 'I close my eyes, the moment I capture, I feel alive,' Danyka sings. Kind of reminds me of when Tristam kissed me. Oh gosh, not again. I'm never going to be able to get my mind off of that. But it was so perfect...Danyka, shut up so I can sleep, I think to myself, then I grin. She won't do it. 'This is forever...'

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     I wake up to the sound of Anna's voice. The sun hasn't even started to come up. It must be early. I can barely even keep my eyes open, and I feel sunken into the bed because I'm so tired. I know I shouldn't have stayed up that late, but it was worth it. I realize Anna is at the door talking to...wait, is that Monstercat? What is he doing in our dorm so early? He seems to have a concerned look on his face as he glances over at me. Well, I have no intention of getting up right now. I groan and roll over, quickly going back to sleep.

[Braken's POV]

     "CALL 1-800-STEEMER; STANLEY STEEMER GETS YOUR LIFE CLEANER!!!" Not a very pleasant awakening.
     "Tristam, turn that off," I mumble in a barely audible, half-awake slur. Nothing happens. I repeat myself, a little louder this time. But it sounds like no one is going to turn the TV off. I sit up and rub my eyes. Gosh, it feels early. I hear the sound of the sink running, then it cuts off and Aero Chord comes out of the bathroom.
     "Tristam's not here," Noisestorm says, a little too casually for my taste. He's sitting on his bed eating a bag of chips and staring at the TV screen.
     "Yes he is. What do you mean, 'Tristam's not here'?" I glare at Noisestorm. Noisestorm just sighs and shoves another chip into his mouth.
Aero Chord sits down next to me, scowls briefly at Noisestorm, and says, "Listen, Braken, we have something to tell you." Obviously, I think to myself. But I can tell something is very wrong. "For crying out loud, Noisestorm, turn the TV off!!!" Aero Chord yells.
     "Fine," Noisestorm says, switching it off and continuing to eat his chips.
     "I really hate to be the one to say this," Aero Chord sighs, looking back at me uneasily, "but..."