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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#33: Bad Hair Day

The best stories are the ones that make us feel something; the ones that tap into some kind of universal emotion or experience. And there is one feeling that stands out as being particularly universal. More than joy, sadness, fear, or love. More than the excited nerves of a first day at school, or the sweet relief of a spring breeze after a long winter. Something that connects us all is the feeling of... a bad haircut.

This week, your challenge is to write a story that evokes the feelings of a bad hair cut. (Whether or not your story involves this actual plot is up to you!)

This week's prompts

Write a story about a character who can't make up their mind about something.

Character – 64 stories

Write a story about a character who's too polite to tell someone they don't like a gift given to them.

Funny – 49 stories

Write a story about a character making a big change.

Teens – 65 stories

Write a story set in a salon or barbershop.

Fiction – 70 stories

Write a story about miscommunication.

Fiction – 48 stories

Stories

“First Cut” by Karen Peradon

Submitted to Contest #33

The cramped attic above the salon apartment was lit by one light bulb encased in a fancy laced lamp shade. It took Sylvia down memory lane, reminding her of Solomon, who was so flamboyant he put finishing touches in unseen rooms. It smelled of about-to-disintegrate paper and mothballs. She had not been up here for… she calculated when she installed the high-tech receivers and coding antennas… four years ago. But even then she hadn’t bothered touching the boxes.“Any room up there?”“Oh sorry dove, miles away, come on up, mind your head.”She sh...

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“Transparency In The Salon” by Stevie Aldrich

Submitted to Contest #33

Valerie scrubbed down every surface at her station, picking up bottles and tubes of products to reach underneath everything and going up the mirror that displayed a mystery splatter. She wiped off and disinfected all her combs and her shears, along with every other tool she used that day, ensuring it was all in tip top shape for the next day. She swept and mopped the floor surrounding her chair first, then, out of the kindness of her heart, she moved through the rest of the room with the broom and mop. She rinsed all the colors bowls and bru...

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“A trim too far.” by Daisy Fairweather

Submitted to Contest #33

September 3, 1939Dear Diary,Today has been an insult from beginning to end, and I am very pleased that as soon as I have finished my entry within your pages, it will be over. It is seldom in life that you have a day as bad as mine and the need to document it is the sole reason I have not chosen to skip this entry and find my bed to end this day all the sooner. The realization that my wedding was in twelve days set me catapulting into my day abuzz with excitement. Apparently catapulting with a bit too much vigor, as I managed to knock my...

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“Maximum Meanness” by Avisha Udhin

Submitted to Contest #33

My life is interesting - because I get to see new people every day. Different types of people. Each day is a different day for me, although it seems that the routine is the same. One would think that every day would turn out the same, and this is what I think too every morning. But then, there is always something that happens which changes the whole course of the day, which in the end, turns out differently. Sometimes, it is boring – a day just like another; or sometimes, full of drama, because somebody had shown their dissatisfaction to my ...

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“Weight of change ” by Sarah Gilbert

Submitted to Contest #33

Change. Change can be scary. Some changes can be small, like switching morning cereals. Some change can be convenient, like going to the coffee shop closer to work. Some change can completely change how people see us. This change can be anxiety producing. It is different for different people. For some changing coffee shops is easy, for others it can completely ruin their routine. Change for some can be overwhelming. Some change is inevitable and some within our control. For one young woman, the change she made was so major for her, it was ha...

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“Don't Change” by Brooke Gardner

Submitted to Contest #33

I was ready. I was so ready. I was more prepared than usual. I was more prepared for life, love, heartbreak, and disappointment, more so than any other ordinary, plain, monotonous day. Would that be a bad thing? Is that a bad thing? Was it a bad thing? (Give me a moment.) Like I said before, it was a dull mindset that never changed. I was always in anticipation of something big because who knew? Today had to be better than yesterday, I was constantly fantasizing. Always ambitious and always let down. I should really be used to this expectant...

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“A New Life, A New Look” by Jennie Marcey

Submitted to Contest #33

I was finally done. It was over. No more dressing the way he wants, wearing my hair the way he wants, talking to, or rather not talking to, whoever he wants. I am free. My friends seem to think that I should be ecstatic. I should be bounding with delight at this newfound abandon, but I’m apprehensive. This freedom is cold and raw. I’ve spent so much time submitting to the whims of someone else that this space is overwhelming. I find myself paralyzed. Small things like deciding on a hairstyle should not be so painstaking, yet it took me almos...

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“Timber” by Devon Flynn

Submitted to Contest #33

With a ceremonial pause, Mantene depressed the switch next to the vertical metal column. Above him it spanned into a giant platform that covered him and the land in darkness. He felt a stir in his gut as the already massive shadow that loomed over him spread out even further. The platform groaned as it shifted. It was the only thing standing between him and the mountain on top of it. He was always in awe when this happened. Being one of the few individuals who wasn’t terrified by being beneath the mountain inste...

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“Don't Worry, It Will Grow Back” by Caitlin Woitt

Submitted to Contest #33

Marcy held her head in her hands and wept as more and more of her once golden blonde hair fell to the floor in flecks and clumps. Each snip of the stylist's shear drove her further into despair. Before this, Marcy was the envy of her school. Everyone knew that her hair was her pride and joy. She had invested a small fortune in vitamin shampoos and miracle serums. Each day was a new surprise for others to marvel at. She was almost never seen sitting still without twiddling it in some manner or another. Her vanity was despised by other girls s...

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“A route in Paris” by Phillipa Royer

Submitted to Contest #33

A little boy, around the age of 8, walks hand in hand with a woman that he barely knows. Her hand grips his tightly, leaving no room for him to escape. Luckily, the boy has no such ideas. He, more or less, goes skipping around, watching other women and men walk past. The new March breeze, cool and wet, kissing his round face. The woman steers him forward as if a rope were tugging her forward. She has a goal to get to. How much she looks like his mother. Straight, brown hair, always pinned up, small blue eyes, a skeleton frame under a heav...

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“The New Apollo” by Clifford Gibson

Submitted to Contest #33

I’m not an extraordinarily vain person, but looking ridiculous in front of a classroom of university students adds to the challenge of establishing and maintaining a relationship of mutual respect, essential for effective classroom management. Taking risks with a haircut is something I steer clear of. As a matter of course, I am risk averse, and I stayed true to my risk averse nature time and again, when on my daily walk to the station, I passed the barber shop with its robot standing guard beside the door.I passed the New Apollo,&...

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“A Bad Hair Day has a New Definition” by Victoria Schlanger - Rubin

Submitted to Contest #33

Vivi is 62 years old. She exercises regularly, tries to eat well and enjoys a glass or two (or three) of wine on occasion. She goes to the salon to get her hair colored every three weeks, she needed it every two weeks because once the grey root line started and spread it was visible but she was able to color it with a temporary spray for one week. She hated the thought of sitting in the salon chair for hours. Vivi also worried about the harsh chemicals saturating her hair. She refused to go under the hair dryer as was recommended ...

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“Roses on Mars” by Gabriella Stewart

Submitted to Contest #33

When I stepped into the only hair salon on Mars I had the same bleakness hanging on my shoulders as a soldier who was about to fight to the death would. Ok, maybe I was being a little dramatic. I hadn’t realized I had paused right inside the door until the only person inside the salon said, “Be with you in a minute.” It was obviously a man, judging by his voice, but he was mostly hidden by one of those spinny chairs that I’d seen on every salon I’d been in on Earth. Looks like some things were universal. He had been crouching on the fl...

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“Short Cut” by Mike Cuthbert

Submitted to Contest #33

It was time. He felt the encroachment of several strands across his ears. Both ears. He had been putting it off because he didn’t have a lot of money in his bank account and was waiting for a check in the mail from his disability pension. He felt his usual twinge of conscience every time he thought about it because his knee had responded to therapy and he could get around just great of late. Better than great, he was jogging three days a week again and it felt good. He lost the pounds he had put on during the rehab of his knee, wore proudly ...

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“Daniel's Place” by Chuck Thompson

Submitted to Contest #33

Joey started it. He’s the one who came up with, “Hey, they got animal rights, right?” Everyone in the shop assented. “They got gay rights and plant rights and all kinds of other rights, right?” Nodding and muttering showed everyone was onboard with Joey’s statements. “Then why the hell don’t we have cannibal rights?” That stopped the scissor snicking and the clipper buzzing as if Joey had stabbed Daniel in the eye with a pair of shears. ‡‡‡ You know how occasionally there’s a dive restaurant that scare...

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$50

Prize money

296

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Mar 20, 2020 EST

Won by Phoebe Barr 🏆

Title: Pennies and Years

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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