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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

“The Misunderstanding” by Lindy Guidry

Submitted to Contest #33

Lucy smiled with excitement as she drove up the winding driveway leading to 6848 Oakridge Road. She had been here many times before, but this time was different. This time she was going to meet Roy’s children, all four of them, Anna, Austin, Joey, and Darla.Lucy and Roy had been dating for a little over six months, but he had been very careful not to introduce her to his children. At first, Lucy had been a little hurt by his hesitancy, but he had told her, “I’ve never introduced them to anyone I’ve dated. Maybe I’ve been ...

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“These hair-brained thoughts.” by Peace Nakiyemba

Submitted to Contest #33

You usually look forward to your day at the salon; the healing chill of the cold water as it runs through your hair during the wash, the release of tension as the blow dryer works out the knots, the confidence boosted when you walk out with your new look. And you can’t help but swing your hair around, it smells so good. Was that a new shampoo - apples, coconut? You purpose to stock it at home but never do because home-hair care is not the same as having a pro sort it out for you.Today doesn’t bode well though.You barely felt the water as it ...

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“Grandpa's new haircut” by Harken Void

Submitted to Contest #33

Clarence was sitting in his wheelchair, waiting patiently for the nurse to come. It was half past four and that meant it was time for his daily walk outside. Or rather, a ride in the wheelchair. But Patty, the nurse who usually took him, was late today.Clarence watched the people in the hospital go by, patients and medical staff coming and going, while he sat in his wheelchair, parked at the end of the bench at the reception. He checked his wrist watch and tightened his jaw.A few minutes later, a doctor came by. He was pushing a wheelchair i...

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“Rome Once” by Dafni Ma

Submitted to Contest #33

FridayAlexander doesn’t fall in love, alright? Just so you know.Apart from not falling in love, today he is flying to Rome to a rhinoplasty convention. Yes, he is a plastic surgeon. He redresses human ugliness, literally.Also, he’s not the least bit scared of airplanes, so we’ll skip the part of boarding and getting off one.Just a sec, we might pause briefly at the getting off part.A blonde passed by as he was alighted at the Eternal City. He stared at her and when she noticed, he shifted his gaze to the ground. We can now move on.The c...

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“My Blood, British Cows and an (half) Empty Rome” by Dustin Softman

Submitted to Contest #33

I am in quarantine. My adopted city is shut down. On the pavement below linger protracted queues that stretch and intersect. Calm and willing to wait. Socially distanced; expressions trapped behind face masks. Onto balconies and out of windows at noon we come to play our part, applauding the work of doctors unseen. A few languid flags wave on confused in the wake of a flashmob; cameras and phones, in the midst of some form of history, uncertain which way to face. The words Viva Italia are sung with strength and flutter away. &nbsp...

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“Identical error” by Tim Law

Submitted to Contest #33

The very best thing about traveling overseas on your own is the people you get to meet and the stories you can tell about them years after. Well over ten years ago I found myself with a dilemma. As a young man with some cash in the bank did I buy a house and become imprisoned by a mortgage or blow it all on my very first overseas holiday. As every smart young man does I chose the latter option and began with a mixture of excitement and wonder planning my trip of a lifetime. The very first stop on a nine month adventure saw me fly from Adelai...

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“No Good Choice” by Jᴇʀᴇᴍʏ Rᴏᴢᴇɴ ✍

Submitted to Contest #33

Delightful screams peeled through the dim space; windows covered by filthy boards, fixed with rusted nails. A bare bulb dangled in the center of the room.“Have you made up your mind yet?” Jobe asked. He was slim and tall, in his mid-thirties to look at him. His kept his hair neat and parted to the left. A clean, crisp, short sleeved shirt was buttoned to the top, fixed with a thin, black tie. "Come on already," Jobe urged.“Please,” a man begged him from the confines of a small chair, “I’m sorry. Whatever it was you think I did, I’m sorry, I ...

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“The Salon Apartment” by Paige Leppanen

Submitted to Contest #33

The apartment above the beauty salon was often empty.Kenzie, the salon owner’s daughter, had lived there during college rent-free, but once she graduated, she moved in with her fiancé and his three dogs. The salon owner, Penny, wouldn’t allow pets in the apartment: “Just think of what those women would think if they saw a dog running through the salon, Kenzie. They’d never trust the cleanliness of the business again.” It was hard to find tenants who didn’t have pets. One applicant even had a pet squirrel, to which Penny responded by promptly...

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“How I told my mom I definitely didn't like her cooking” by Daniela Morales

Submitted to Contest #33

My mom is a terrible cook. I will say, however, that she does what she can. She grew up in a typical Mexican household where my grandmother would cook every day. Simple things, mind, nothing fancy. Beans, corn, a little bit of meat on the side to make sure her four kids got some protein. The typical dish at any family-owned Mexican restaurant, except that's a very average family meal in an average Mexican neighborhood. Tortillas go unmentioned because they are just there, as part of the table as the plates the food is served in. An impo...

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“Two Star Tattoo” by Paige Leppanen

Submitted to Contest #33

July 29. It was finally here.I stared in the bedroom mirror. Greek nose, hazel eyes, overall a pretty average appearance. I rolled up the sleeve on my left arm. This was going to be the last day of having what my mother called “untarnished” skin. Today was the day I would finally get a tattoo.For years, I’d admired the women I saw with tattoos. To me, they symbolized badassery at its finest. They held stories rooted in feminism and artistic expression. And they were just so sexy. I couldn’t help but stare anytime I saw someone covered in ink...

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“Stop Talking” by Unknown User

Submitted to Contest #33

Stop TalkingThe woman said behind her in line. "We all have places to be." Alex turns around looking her in the face “Are you speaking to me?”“Yes, no one cares how your day is going. Stop talking and hurry up I don’t have all day.”Holding the frap in her hand she pictures whipped cream dripping over the woman’s bad weave. “Well maybe you should care, because who knows what could happen to you with your rude attitude. I have a few ideas of what I would like to do to you.” Walking away she yells Bitch and laughs as loud as she can.Ente...

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“Peach Yoghurt Sky” by Rhiannon D'Averc

Submitted to Contest #33

She had a dream that they were standing with their backs together, against a wall. Everything was painted in the same precise shade of lightly tinted cream, like a peach yoghurt. Even so, somehow a bright sun shone down on them.The first time it was her birthday after they had started to date, he bought her a dress that surpassed her wildest expectations. That is to say, it was the worst garment she had ever seen in her life. The wrong colour for her skin, far too revealing and sexy. Something she would never wear.“Oh,” she said, when she ha...

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“A Tablet For Adulthood” by Iona Cottle

Submitted to Contest #33

When she was younger, the sight of a pile of presents would fill Esme with joy. Now, at only nineteen, it filled her with dread. “I didn’t ask for anything though,” she said with a fake laugh to her parents, praying that they wouldn’t see through it. “What’s all this?” “Well you can’t not have presents on your birthday,” her mother replied. “But what are they-” “There’s no point in us telling you is there? Go on, open them up.” The first one was a box of chocolates, which gave her hope for the rest of them. That hope was shattered when she g...

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“Roommate of the Hour” by Paige Leppanen

Submitted to Contest #33

It wasn’t often that Anastasia walked to work. In fact, she couldn’t recall any other time she’d stepped out on her porch, saw the sunshine, and decided to enjoy the fresh air. Twenty minutes later, she stood in front of her office, staring up at the small black birds perched at one of the windows. She needed to go inside and clock in, but she wanted to cherish every second she wasn’t at home.As she strolled through the office’s revolving door, she pulled out her phone to see if Jenn had texted her yet. Nothing. She usually started blowing u...

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“The Haircut” by Sydney Bingham

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #33

Well . . . it’s short, I thought as I stared at my reflection in the mirror. I ran my fingers through the surviving strands while their siblings lay limp on the floor at my feet. I didn’t want to admit that I’d made a mistake, so I told myself that I’d get used to it . . . that it was time for a change, anyway . . . that even though I wasn’t a hairstylist, per se, I hadn’t fucked it up too badly, considering I was holding a pair of child-safe scissors - the kind with the rounded tips that, on the sharpness scale, sat somewhere between a butt...

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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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