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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

“Spire” by Meli Mangos

Submitted to Contest #33

Six years since she had stood in this spot. In the middle of the sidewalk in front of the stairs with the rusty hand railing. The same discolored steps poorly shoveled of snow. The stop sign on the corner of the street had been upgraded to a stop light that shone in the night. The pear tree sapling was now circled with chicken wire and stood a few feet higher. Icicles hung from the little branches. She stood looking up at the spire, same as she had that day, with small flakes of snow spiraling down around it. Memories started to spill past t...

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“Uncle Stan and Uncle Stan” by Tom Moser

Submitted to Contest #33

They were across the border with no place to hide and no place to run. The passenger knew hiding and running were not real options. It was easy to cross the world’s longest undefended border from America into Canada in those days when a mere driver’s license was the ticket north. The border security officer looked at his father’s identification and accepted their reason for visiting Canada. “How long are you going to be in Canada?” the officer asked the driver. &nbs...

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“I really don't like green.” by Dhanya ~

Submitted to Contest #33

I stood awkwardly near my locker. Where was he? I chewed on my lip, bouncing lightly from foot to foot as I anticipated him. To be fair, I’m not really eager to see him. He’s been off school for so long that I may as well just forget him. I mean, what’s the point? Why was he taking so long? I checked my watch. 20 past 3. The bus was coming in 10 minutes and I should be going. I brushed a hand through my hair, wincing at the amount of tangles. I also needed to comb my hair.I sighed and rubbed my forehead with the back of my hand. How lon...

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“The Gift” by Sophia Nelson

Submitted to Contest #33

Christmas morning. Emily and I sit face to face on my living room floor, exchanging gifts. We both have our pajamas on, mine vibrant red with snowflakes and reindeers, her's emerald green with coffee patterns. I hold the wrapped package in my hands and look up. Emily has a giddy smile on her face as she urges me to open the box. I look back down and tear at the brightly colored wrapping paper. The thin, rose paper falls to the floor, and in my hands is a cardboard box. I peel off the transparent tape, open the flaps, and peer i...

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“Cut up about it” by Deepa Ravi

Submitted to Contest #33

Father is at his worst on haircut days. Something about going to a salon triggers the beast in him. He believes that hairdressers are a necessary evil. This despite the fact that he needs to have his haircut every fortnight.Yes. You heard me right. He has to get a haircut every two weeks.And we dread those weekends. We pray that he would get bald soon so that we can skip that ordeal. But no such luck. Nature has ordained him with a lush growth of deep black hair that refuses to turn grey. He turns 65 tomorrow and will have to officially reti...

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“Weird Weather” by James Offenha

Submitted to Contest #33

I love going outside, so I go to the door and whine. My master rolls his eyes,gets my leash, and clips my leash on my collar. I wag my tail. He opens what he calls his P.O.S. [piece of shit] door and then I’m out. I smell the different breeds of flowers, the scents of other dogs, the tree trunks, the dirt, everything. This is nirvana. I can explore my world, mark my territory, and just be myself. Then, I see another dog, so I bark at it (this is my territory) and try to ...

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“Love in the Time of the Coronavirus” by Victor Lana

Submitted to Contest #33

I sit in the waiting area of the local barbershop looking at my phone. There are magazines on a table, but I’m not touching them with this coronavirus going around. I don’t even want to get a haircut, but my hair is getting kind of long, and I have a wedding to attend next week.This shop is across the street from Dugan’s Bar, Nino’s Pizzeria, and Edgar’s bodega, which is on my corner. A diverse cast of characters in this Brooklyn neighborhood frequent all these places, interacting with each other in humorous ways. My diminutive neighbor Mann...

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“Dancing in the Rain” by Clara Wilde

Submitted to Contest #33

As our shouts cleared from the air, I leaned my head against the car window, tears gathering in my eyes. The lump in my throat was simultaneously suffocating me and sinking heavily to the pit of my stomach. I felt so weak and helpless, crying in the passenger seat of his car again while the outside world rolled by. Everything was just out of my reach: the swirling purple clouds, the wind, and feeling in the air of a storm about to approach and quench the parched earth- him. A brewing storm in his own right. I loved his wildness his unpredict...

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“Marcello's Barbershop” by Mike Garrigan

Submitted to Contest #33

For the past half hour, pick-axes pinged in tandem on granite far below the surface of the Earth. Occasionally, the axes pealed in tandem. But mostly, they hit in syncopation, as if their wielders were racing, or perhaps, chasing each other. A rod of light broke through the dark side of the rock.“I win!” Delta said.“No, I hit the granite last before breaking through. I win,” Gamma said.“But I’m the one who actually broke through, so I win,” Delta said.“But I was—”“Knock it off,” Beta said, holding a flood lamp. “Let’s see what’s inside....

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“The Shop” by Caliyah Barnes

Submitted to Contest #33

I met him at the shop, the barber shop of course his brown skin beautiful, blue eyes and curly, dark brown hair caught me off guard. I had to step up my game and just ask. "Come on CC don't be a coward," I thought to myself. You only have one chance to do this right ,one chance . He sits down about 10 seats from me and gets on his phone I must be staring to hard because now he's looking back so I look away but I have to steal one more look but when I look over he's already staring . I motion him over and say "if I give you my number will you...

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“Will cut you, for free... ” by D Myers

Submitted to Contest #33

“Is he in there? I can’t wait any longer, the silence is deafening”.“Just wait Sindy, ‘patience bears good fruits, if you will just persevere and wait’ you know that old European Proverb…”.The young ladies could barely stand waiting, peering inside, with their cheeks pressed firmly against the stores window glass.“Maybe we should pull down our pants and press our bum cheeks up against the window, to see if it will tempt him to hurry and open up already” Sindy said chuckling.“Oh Sindy, you’re so full of sin, have some self respect, it’s almos...

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“Bad haircut indeed” by Chloe Ching

Submitted to Contest #33

As I glanced at the prestigious salon which was hung in front of me,I had a hesitation whether to go in there.In fact,I should have never stepped into this mall.A wide variety of shops lined the few floors of the mall: antique and art stalls, jewelry and accessory shops, luxury boutiques, souvenir kiosks and stores selling leather goods, all showcasing an array of the finest Italian wares. Tourists flocked to them like fireflies to a lamp, enthusiasm accentuating their features. The silvery melody of the drawl of sightseers and t...

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“Oh Deer!” by Jasmine Sidhu

Submitted to Contest #33

The day was a normal day. Just like every time I come in for a haircut. I waited and waited for my turn and saw the concentration of the crowd in the salon to get less and less until there was only an old lady sitting on the chair with a magazine in her hand." Jonathan!", cried the barber.I saw a head turn towards me. The barber: a short lady with pink glasses. She had so much makeup on, her lips were red because of the lipstick and her eyes were pink from the eyeshadow. Her hair was kind of messy and she had it back in a ponytail. She looke...

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“THE ORIGINAL BAD HAIR DAY, REDUX” by Andrew Grell

Submitted to Contest #33

The Original Bad Hair Day ReduxBy Andrew Paul Grell“Definitely big butts. It’s an evolution thing. A guy wants to know if he puts something in there, she’ll be able to push it out when it’s finished. And that she’s got enough stored to get it done.”“Maybe, Uriel. But how many women died from getting industrial silicone injected into their asses?” Stacy was all about the inherent beauty of the natural body. Any natural body, including hers. “Besides, it’s eyelashes. They can communicate more. Whadd...

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“Led by Deception” by Blane Britt

Submitted to Contest #33

Led by DeceptionEveryday on my way to work in Downtown Cleveland. There would be this gentlemen who many people referred to as Willie the Wino sitting at the bus stop, that I assumed waiting to go to work in a wheelchair. He had his two expensive titanium prosthetic legs laying across his lap. I always wondered where he could possibly be going to work and what could he possibly do if he had a real job. Come to think about it he was never at the bus stop on Mondays.One day I decided to ask him what he did for a living. He took a long sip of w...

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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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