Hair Funk
“Clara, hurry up! We are ready to go to the game. You promised you would come,” called Rachel from the main space of the dorm.
“Exactly,” called out Sierra, “this is girls’ night. Meaning all of us.”
Lauren yanked open the door to the dorm space that she shared with Clara. Glaring at Rachel and Sierra, who are decked out in their college jerseys, “Give us a minute!”
Adding in a bit of a whisper, “She will come, but give me a bit to convince her.”
“Fine,” Sierra sighed, “But we need to leave soon so we can get good seats.”
Lauren gently closes the door and sits down on the edge of the bed.
“What is going on? You did agree to go.”
Clara sighed. “I know… I just have this test coming up, and I don’t feel ready.”
Dropping her head, and adding in a whisper, “You know how much I don’t like going to the games. It is just too loud and chaotic for my taste.”
“I know you don’t, but this is girls’ night. We do this to get away from the pressures of all the studying. You know this.”
“I tell you what… I know you are stressing for this test. Join us, but bring your books. That way you can ‘escape’ into your world of studying when it get’s too much.”
“Thank you, Lauren. I’ll do that.”
Bang, bang, bang…
“We need to leave now!” came Sierra’s voice through the door.
Lauren patted Clara on the knee. “I’ve got this. Pack up your bag and come out in 5 minutes. I will be waiting.”
Lauren got up quietly and opened the door with an intentional gentleness. Stepping through, she was greeted with the very fierce faces of 2 of her closest friends.
“You both need to let up. You know how much she pushes herself for good grades, and how much she hates the crowds of these games.”
Rachel crossed her arms, looking dejected, which was made all the more intense by her short red bob. Sierra, with her high dark ponytail, looked like a coach about to lay into a player for not pulling their weight.
Lauren raised a hand to stop both of them before they made the situation worse.
“You two head to the stadium and find us some seats. Message me the location. Clara and I will meet you there. AND, she is bringing her textbooks.”
Sierra and Rachel were about to protest again. Lauren continued, “It is an easy compromise.”
She glared at the two, “Don’t bring it up. She is joining us, that needs to be enough.”
Sierra and Rachel looked at each other and nodded.
“Thank you,” Sierra said with a small smile on her face, “You always know how to bring all of us together. We will see you there.”
Rachel smiled too. “See you there.”
The quietly left, though the instant the door was closed, Lauren heard laughter starting to ring out. She plopped down on the couch, fully expecting to have to wait 10 minutes for Clara to finally emerge.
To her surprise, Clara popped her head out of their shared bedroom just 2 minutes later.
“Come, sit!” Lauren patted the cushion next to her. “I told you 5 minutes, because I figured you would prefer to walk, just the two of us, without them.”
“That sounds nice,” Clara said with an easy smile.
~*~
Walking down the sun-lit street, with her book bag over her shoulder, “Lauren, I know you aren’t a big fan of sports either. So, why do you agree to these events?”
“For the cute guys of course,” Lauren shot back with a wry grin.
Clara just rolled her eyes. “Of course that is your motivation. Especially with your looks.”
“Hey, don’t sell yourself short. You will find someone that loves that unruly mass of curls you call hair,” Lauren teased while bumping Clara playfully with her hip.
Clara laughed. “I want someone that will respect my need for some quiet, and I doubt I will find that sort of person at a noisy football game.”
“Who knows,” Lauren smirked, “maybe his friends are dragging him to the game right now.”
It was Clara’s turn to hip check Lauren, hard enough for her to stumble.
They both laughed.
“What sort of guy are you looking for?”
“Tall, dark, and handsome.”
“Tall, dak, and handsome, plus blonde bombshell… Shouldn’t be too hard to pull that off.”
It was Lauren’s turn to roll her eyes, but with every expectation of finding someone tonight.
~*~
“So, where do you want to sit?” Rachel mused as she and Sierra looked out over the stands. It was still fairly empty.
“I want to be right on the edge of the away teams section.”
“You do realize that it is dangerous for us to sit there. Especially wearing jerseys. Right?”
“Of course I do. But here is how I see it. If we are winning, then I get to rub it in their face. If we aren’t winning, maybe I can seduce one of the guys into switching sides.”
“Fat chance of that. They are our rivals! Remember? This college is only an hour away. You are not getting a hunk to give up his school colors for you. Especially not from that school.”
“You never know. Men do crazy things when I start swinging this tail in their face,” throwing her ponytail over her shoulder
“That is part of why I like my hair shorter. Harder to piss off guys by throwing my hair around.”
“Whatever! I see some good seats down there.”
“Oh, those are great. I hope that Lauren and Clara get here soon.”
Sierra grabs her phone to message Lauren, but as she turns around, she spots Lauren and Clara entering the stadium.
Rachel and Sierra start waving their arms to get their friend’s attention.
As Lauren and Clara got down to their friends, Sierra and Rachel gave Clara warm smiles.
“Thanks for coming. We know how much you aren’t a big fan of these,” said Rachel warmly.
“You’re welcome. Though I am going to study this entire time,” Clara declared as she plopped down and pulled her textbook out of her bag.
The stadium started to fill up, especially with fans of the other team. Sierra and Rachel started eyeing the ‘competition’, and there seemed to be some decent lookers in the mix.
~*~
The game was a decent struggle for both sides. However, by the half, the other team was starting to pull ahead. This had the unfortunate effect of causing some of the opposing fans to start to get out of control.
“Hey! Watch it!” Sierra called out as a large guy, that looked like he could have been playing for the other team bumped into her as he shouted in triumph.
The guy looked at her in confusion, then understanding.
“Sorry,” he said. “I get a little excited when my team is doing well.”
He was tall and looked like a total jock. Including the stereo-typical buzzed haircut.
“Well, we wouldn’t be cheering so much if your team wasn’t such losers,” his friend with long blonde hair claimed.
“Excuse me?” Rachel shot back, “They are playing hard. Luck just might not be on their side today.”
“Luck,” barked the blonde dude, “Hah! Your team would need luck to beat us. Even on your own turf.”
“Oh, those are fighting words…” Rachel started to seethe.
Sierra and Rachel started flinging insults at the 2 guys. Even Lauren was getting riled up. Clara on the other hand was starting to get annoyed.
There were clearly two other guys with the blockheads. Clare caught eyes with them and exchanged exasperated looks.
Standing up with a start, Clara glared at the guys.
“If you guys are so sure that you are sure that your team is better, why don’t you bet on it? There is another game between our schools next month, but you guys are the home team. Looser has the fulfill the bet then.”
Rachel looked at Clara, then back at the guys, “You know what, she’s right. Why not a bet?”
The two guys looked at each other, then at their buddies.
“Leave us out of it! You guys got yourselves into this mess,” said the one with dark hair.
Sierra piped in, “Hey, this bet is in your favor. You guys are winning. So, why so hesitant?”
The two jocks looked at each other.
“Fine,” said the one with blonde hair, “if we win, I want you to wear our teams jersey for game.”
Rachel and Sierra looked at each other, mentally debating.
“You know what, fine,” Rachel glared at the blonde guy, “I will wear one of your jerseys.”
She eyed the other guy.
“The question is, what should be your punishment if we win…?”
“I will wear one of your jerseys.”
“No, I don’t think so,” she said, lost in thought.
She started eyeing his hair.
“I don’t think that is enough. You could handle having to do that once. Plus, you guys are winning, so it should be a rougher bet for you, if you lose.”
He started to get concerned, “What do you have in mind?”
“I think your hair is what really defines you…” she kept pondering, “I want you to buzz it off.”
The guy just stood there, stunned.
His buddy cut in, “I think it is a fair bet. And chances are, she is the one that is going to lose. We have been unstoppable this game.”
“Fine! It’s a bet.”
He reached out and shook her hand, “I’m Daniel.”
“Rachel. And this is Sierra,” Rachel motioned next to her.
“I’m Joe,” his friend chimed in, “This is Tom,” motioning to the dark haired gentleman, “And this looser is Andrew.”
Lauren stepped over, “I’m Lauren.”
She motioned behind the group, “She’s Clara.”
They all exchanged pleasantries.
“Well,” Sierra declared, “Guess we should see how this game plays out, and who has to pay up.”
Eyeing Joe, “No more running into me?”
“Fair.”
~*~
As the game wore on, Rachel got more and more nervous. Her team was down even more.
“You are going to look good in red, Red,” Joe called over.
Rachel just sat there dejected, wanting this game, and the next month to be over with. She was not happy with the bet.
Though, as the last quarter kicked off, things seemed to change.
Touchdown, followed by a quick interception and another touchdown.
Suddenly the game was tied up.
Rachel glanced over at the guys. Daniel was starting to get nervous. This she liked.
From there, the game almost seemed to stall out. Until the final seconds and Rachel’s team scored a field goal.
Daniel just sat there in shock.
Rachel walked over to Daniel, an air of smug confidence.
Stopping in front of him, she lifted his chin with her hand so she could look into his eyes.
“See you in a month… baldie.”
With that, she strode away, laughing at her good fortune.
Lauren stalked over to Tom.
“I want your number!” she demanded, “We will be at that game, and I want to make sure that your friend holds up his end of the bet.”
Tom made a good show of sizing Lauren up, admiring her curves.
“Give me your phone,” he finally said, “He has a sense of honor and will keep his end of the bargain.”
Lauren, taking her own good look at Tom, handed him her phone.
“Feel free to check up on if his hair has come off,” he said while handing the phone back after entering his number, “Feel free to message any other time as well.”
“I might just do that,” she said as she turned to join her friends.
~*~
The next month passed for both sets of friends with little fan fair. Classes, exams, casual hangout. Nothing exciting.
A few days before the big game, the girls were all sitting in the common area of their dorm room, studying as finals weren’t that far away.
Rachel looked up from her book, “I just realized that the football game is a few days away. I sure hope that oaf keeps up his end of the bet.”
“Wow, is it really here already?” Clara asked, a note of unease entering her voice.
Lauren quickly whipped out her phone. Sure enough, the game was in 3 days.
“It sure is,” she piped up, “You guys ready to see that chump humiliated without those long blonde locks?”
“I am,” quipped Sierra, “I just wish that Joe had to suffer as well.”
Rachel laughed, “Maybe you will get the chance this time.”
“We shall see. He didn’t seem like a bad guy, just a little over zealous about his team.”
“Like you?” Clara muttered.
Sierra chucked a pillow at her, “Quiet you! You okay to come? I know how much you don’t like the games.”
With a resigned sigh, “Yeah, I will come. They were a little annoying, but I really want to see that lug taken down a few pegs without his flowing blonde hair. Besides, those guys weren’t that bad to look at.”
They all laughed at that.
~*~
The day of the game arrived. There was a decent buzz around the dorm room. Even Clara was getting excited, though she also had her book bag with her.
Lauren stopped in the middle of the room, “I just messaged Tom, letting him know we were on our way.”
Rachel, looking at her sideways from the couch, “Really, you got his number?”
“Yeah, he seemed like the most sensible of the bunch, and I wanted to make sure Daniel went through with the bet. I couldn’t have your red-headed temper taking his head off because he didn’t buzz his head.”
Rachel sat there glaring at her friend for a moment.
“Yeah, I would do that, wouldn’t I?”
“Thus my desire to not have to post bail money, and have him be humiliated.”
“Thanks,” Rachel said sarcastically, though with the hint of a smile.
~*~
Tom leaned against the doorframe looking at his phone and then up at Daniel, with his hair still hanging around his head.
“Dan, I just got a text from the girls that we met at that game a month ago. They are on their way to the stadium, right now.”
Daniel looked at his friend, a bit confused.
Suddenly he sat down on his bed, hard, a look of dread passing over his face.
“My hair…”
“Your hair…”
By this point, Joe, and even Andrew had stopped what they were doing, remembering the bet with the girls.
“You did agree to this,” Joe said.
“At your insistence!”
“Shaving my head wouldn’t have been as big of a bet.”
Daniel sat there for a moment, “I am not shaving my head!” he declared.
“Yes, you are,” Joe retorted, “You made a bet, and lost. Now you will pay up.”
“Even I would have taken that bet,” Andrew chimed in, “I would not want to have faced the wrath of that red head.”
A look of scared agreement passed over all of their faces.
“Andrew, go grab my clippers,” Joe said to the much skinnier man, “and a chair. Set them up in the kitchen.”
Andrew ran off to grab the needed supplies.
“Now,” Joe said, fixing Daniel with a stare, “Are you going to come willingly, or do Tom and I have to drag you to the chair and hold you down?”
“Fine, I will do it,” Daniel slowly got up off the bed.
Andrew was already setup in the kitchen.
As Daniel got closer to the chair, the tension could be felt building in the room.
With a start, Daniel tried to bolt for the door, but Joe and Tom, sensing their friend might try to be a coward about this, snatched his arms before he could move two inches.
“Seems like we are going to have to do this the hard way,” Tom muttered.
“Andrew,” Joe said as he and Tom started to drag Daniel towards the chair, “I know you have never handled clippers, but I think you are going to have to do the honors. Tom and I might just have to sit on him so that this can happen.”
Andrew was visibly concerned. He had never even held clippers before today.
“It is easy. Put the #2 guard on those things, turn them on, and run them over his head.”
By this time, Tom and Joe had forced Daniel into the seat, though Joe was holding Daniel’s shoulders down.
Andrew managed to get the attachment on the clippers and turn them on.
Daniel started thrashing his head around.
“No, I am NOT doing this! My hair is who I am,” tears starting to form in the corner of his eyes.
Joe got down in his face and almost snarled, “You also aren’t a coward, and you made a bet!”
This didn’t stop Daniel from trying to throw Joe off of him.
“Tom, grab his head so that it doesn’t move.”
Tom complied, placing his hands on both sides of Daniel’s face.
“Andrew, do it now!” Joe called out, “One swipe back from his forehead and he will have to let us finish.”
Andrew, full of nerves for having to do something so personal to such a big guy, who was also a friend, quickly came up from behind and placed the clippers on Daniel’s forehead.
For a brief second, Daniel almost slipped free as Joe stared at the clippers in disbelief, before recovering his grip.
“Andrew, turn them around,” Joe said through clenched teeth, “You have them backwards.”
Andrew, momentarily startled, quickly turned them around and pulled them backwards. A strip of unevenly buzzed blonde hair was left going through the center of Daniel’s head.
Joe, having used up a nice bit of his strength, released Daniel, who bolted to the bathroom to assess the damage.
Tom clapped Andrew on the back, “Nice job with those clippers,” he said dryly.
“Hey, don’t look at me. I have never paid attention to how they are used.”
Joe had made his way to the bathroom. Daniel was standing there, hand feeling the area that was now devoid of hair. A tear had slipped free, and was now rolling down his cheek.
“I am sorry man, but this needed to happen.”
Daniel kept staring at the strip for a second more.
“You are right,” he said as he turned towards back towards the chair.
“Joe, please finish the job. I think the kid stabbed my head with the guard.”
“Fair enough,” he chuckled
Daniel sat back down, though his eyes were still filled with tears.
Joe made quick work of the rest of the hair.
“Andrew, can you clean up this hair while the rest of us finish getting ready?” Tom asked, “We need to be out the door in the next few minutes in order to beat the girls to the stadium.”
~*~
15 minutes later, the four guys were sitting in a mostly empty stadium, waiting for the game to start, and more importantly for the 4 girls that put them into this mess to arrive and to start gloating over them.
Tom looked up to see the girls walking in. He waved them over.
As the girls started walking over, Rachel noticed how the three guys seemed to be guarding their freshly shaved friend.
Daniel looked miserable. Gone was the loud, confident guy that agreed to the bet a month ago. Sitting there was a defeated man that had lost a major part of himself. Though he was still wearing his teams jersey.
Tom stood up and approached them.
“Please be nice to him,” he said in a subdued voice, “He forgot about the bet. We had to hold him down a few minutes ago and shave him.”
Rachel audibly gasped, staring at Daniel in disbelief. She was the one that did this to him. She was the one that ‘suggested’ that be his punishment if he lost the bet.
“Thank you,” she quietly said to Tom and stepped around him.
As she approached Daniel, Joe tried to step between them. Rachel simply looked at him and motioned him away. Joe quickly stepped aside, and even Andrew recognized the gesture and moved away.
Rachel stepped in front of Daniel, and using her hand, lifted his chin so that she was looking straight into his eyes. Tears started to well in her eyes and a soft smile played across her lips.
She then leaned close, and planted a soft kiss to his forehead.
“Thank you,” she whispered, “I know that wasn’t easy.”
As she straightened back up, she ran her hand over the top of his head. With a look of determination, she gave a quick nod and started walking determinedly out of the stadium.
Clara looked at her quizzically.
“I have to do something,” was all Rachel said in response as she passed them.
The girls just looked at each other and shrugged.
15 minutes later, Rachel returned to find her three friends and the guys sitting there, chatting amiably. Though the game hadn’t quite started, so the rivalry hadn’t kicked in yet. Clara was already deep into an Economics book, and Andrew sat there, staring bored out at the field.
Daniel, seemingly somewhat recovered, still just sat there with a bit of a blank stare.
Sierra looked up and her jaw went slack, “Rachel! What did you do?”
Rachel reached the group, now sporting the ‘wrong’ jersey.
“It seemed only fair at this point.”
She sat down next to Daniel, who could only stare.
“I lost the bet. You don’t have to wear my team’s jersey.”
“I know,” She said with a kind smile, “but you gave up a big piece of yourself for me, and I needed to show you I was grateful.”
With that she laid her head on his shoulder.
“Does this mean that I can grow my hair back out?” Daniel said quietly.
“Yes, it does,” she replied, “While I like this look on you, it isn’t you.”
With that, she twined her fingers through his.
~*~
The game was eventful, though after the show of comradery between Rachel and Daniel, nobody really took any rivalry seriously.
Sierra and Joe kept trying to predict the outcome of plays, but to no real detriment for either of them if they guessed wrong.
Lauren looked around, trying to spot Tom. He was fairly handsome, and she was tired of just quietly watching the game by herself.
Glancing around, she didn’t see him at first.
Wait, was that him sitting on the other side of Clara, talking to her? Why did she still have her Economics books still open if such an attractive guy was talking to her?
Lauren figured that Clara might hook up with Andrew of all people. They both were more of the quiet type. She figured they would enjoy each other’s ‘company’.
Well, far be it from her to interrupt them, even if she didn’t think it would go anywhere. She was getting to the point of really wanting some companionship, but who?
She started looking around for Andrew. He was scrawny, but maybe the geek would get some action tonight. She had worn a very revealing shirt just to try to get someone’s attention.
She glanced around. Finally she turned around and found Andrew sitting a couple of rows above her, elbow on his knee, and chin in his hand. It almost looked like he was moping.
She leaned back onto the bench between them, fluffing out her hair.
“Andrew, you ok? The game not stimulating enough for you?”
“Sports are really not my thing.”
“I get it. Clara over there doesn’t really enjoy them either. What would you rather be doing?”
“Honestly, working on my D&D campaign that I have been developing.”
“What’s that?” she startled, almost taken aback by the sound of this thing he had been working on.
Andrew kindof jumped to, focusing in on Lauren sitting there. Their eyes locked briefly. He quickly turned away.
“Sorry,” he half chuckled, “It’s probably nothing that you would be interested in,” as he settled his chin back in his palm.
“I was more surprised by how much desire you had to be working on this thing. So, for now, humor me. Tell me about this campaign that you are working on?”
He glanced at her dubiously, but sighed.
For the next 15 minutes, he just went off, talking about elves, trolls, dungeons, and who knows what else. Lauren was honestly lost by almost all of it. What she couldn’t shake was his passion. It consumed him enough that he was all but ignoring a woman with decent breasts, that had been put on display for him to take a very good look at.
She had experienced guys that weren’t into her. Some preferred brunettes like Sierra or feeling like they survived conquering a red head like Rachel. That was perfectly ok. But to have her looks seemingly ignored was new to her.
She couldn’t help but start staring at him, curiosity warring inside her. What would it be like to have a guy that didn’t see her for her beauty, but just as a person?
Andrew seemed to realize her waning interest and quickly apologized for talking her ear off about something she had no interest in.
“I wouldn’t say that. I am just not familiar with it.”
“It isn’t really something that can be explained quickly to someone that doesn’t know the basics,” he shrugged.
“Well, maybe one day I will let you teach me.”
He looked straight into her eyes and cocked his head, seaming to debate if she meant it or not.
“Maybe,” he said, though not completely convinced.
~*~
The game ended shortly after, the 8 of them walking out together.
“Well that was a fun night,” Joe said.
“Yes, it was,” replied Rachel as she looked up at Daniel, who had his arm around her shoulders.
“Shoot us a message if you ever just want to get together,” Lauren chimed in.
“We might just do that,” was Tom’s simple answer.
Stories in chronological order:
The Game – The whole gang
