Echo Sollin
A woman in a charcoal grey suit walks through a crowded TV studio office, her feet aching in the heels she put on this morning, her head hurting because of how tight her brunette hair is pulled back into a bun. As she enters the elevator she pulls her phone out of her pocket, tapping away at the screen she makes a call. “Julia, we got the green light. Hair Dare is good to start.” The woman smiles as the elevator doors close.
The same grey suited woman walks onto the set of a game show. “Ms. Matthews, glad you could make it.” A thin, short woman in a black, leather vest over a white dress and a black pixie walks up to her clutching tightly stuffed manila envelope. “Julia, you’ve been my faithful assistant for 5 years now when are you going to stop calling me Ms. Matthews and just call me Heather? Besides today is the first taping of a show I’ve been working to get on air for nearly two years why wouldn’t I be here? Now where are our daring contestants?” The shorter woman looks down nervously, “About that Ma’am, one of the contestants dropped out this morning. Apparently she got cold feet at the last second.” Heather’s jaw clenches “Great and I assume we don’t have anyone as a backup?” “Uh n-no ma’am, it’s sort of hard to find women that want to sign up for this…” “Jesus Christ, they complain for decades that they don’t want to be held to stereotypes but God forbid they risk their precious fucking hair. Feminists my ass.” Julia scratches the back of her neck “And there’s something else Ms. Matthews… Mr. Willows called and said if we don’t get this taping done today then he’s cutting the funding and cancelling the show.” Heather sighs angrily “Son of a bitch. Are there seriously no other candidates available?” “No ma’am.” Another jaw clench “Fine, I’ll do it.” Julia’s eyes widen “W-what?” “I’ll do it; I’ll compete in the show.” “But Ma’am, won’t it people think you’re cheating if they find out you’re the creator?” “How could I be cheating, the show’s completely based on a factor I couldn’t possibly control.” Julia’s face shows a look of confusion “I guess so…” “Besides this is only a pilot episode, if people have an issue with a part of the episode we can change it with the real show. It’ll be fine Julia.” “Okay Ms. Matthews.” Julia says through a strained smile.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the first episode of America’s next top gameshow HAIR DARE!” the emcee Erika Styles greets the crowd, her silver hair sparkling under the studio lights, as Heather prepares herself for her entrance behind the curtain, straightening her wavy brunette hair that sits at her ass just right. “Now for anyone unfamiliar with the show’s rules I’ll explain.” Erika continues “In a few moments two brave women will come on-stage, have their hair’s length measured, and write down a number on a piece of paper, that number will represent how much hair they believe their opponent is willing to chop off, then both women will be led into their own separate “barbershops” filled with hair-cutting supplies and remove an amount of their hair at least 3” long. Both women will then come back and we’ll measure how much hair the women have cut off and we will compare their initial bets to the actual length removed, the woman who wrote down the number closest to the actual amount her opponent chopped off will win and be rewarded with $10,000.” The crowd cheers “I know, doesn’t that sound great? And as an added bonus if the winner also cut off more hair than her enemy they also win a week-long paid vacation to the Bahamas!” More applause “However there is also a forfeit for the loser. The woman who incorrectly judged her foe’s willingness to cut her hair will have to go into the other barbershop where her opponent will cut off an additional amount of hair equal to that what they got rid of.” The crowd gasps “Exactly guys and girls, that’s utterly terrifying. But with all of that out of the way, LET’S MEET OUR CONTESTANTS! First up, she’s a studio exec from right here in Kensington, Heather Matthews!” The crowd erupts in cheers again as Heather runs onto the stage towards a podium with her name on it. Heather waves as the crowd applauds “And our second courageous competitor, a law enforcement officer from Bartonsville, Delilah Judge!” A blonde woman jogs on set her tight curls bouncing heavily with each step she takes settling around her knees as she reaches her podium, she’s dressed immaculately in her dress uniform. “Good Evening ladies,” Erika says to the women that just joined her. “Hi.” “Hello.” They respond. “Now you both know the rules and the risks involved, tell me are you scared? Heather?” She chuckles “Of course, but I’m here and I’m in need of a haircut.” The crowd laughs “And Delilah how do you feel about your chances?” Delilah smirks “I’m feeling good about my chances you know? I’m hoping being named after the mythological Delilah will help me here.” “Oh, maybe it will.” Erika agrees “Now in front of you are a pencil and a piece of paper, I want you to write down how much you think your fellow competitor will be willing to risk for the prize and then fold the paper and hand them to me. As you’re doing so I will take measurements of your hair.” Heather picks up her pencil and looks at her adversary, her long blonde hair swaying in the slight breeze from the a/c unit. ‘Ha, her hair is so pretty she clearly puts a lot of time into it, so I bet she’ll take barely any more than the minimum.’ And she writes down 7 inches on her paper slip, passing it to Erika as she measures out her hair “Heather your hair is 38 inches long, and Delilah you have the advantage with 45 inches.” The crowd claps again “Now ladies with your bets handed in and your starting lengths recorded if you could please head into your respective barbershops.” The two women depart there stands and head into identical faux storefronts.
Entering her barbershop Heather looks around at the setup. A large leather chair sits in front of a mirror and countertop which atop sits a bunch of hair ties and clips, a measuring tape, a pair of scissors, a brush, a comb, a pair of clippers with various lengths of guides, and even a can of shaving cream and some safety razors. ‘Okay, so I bet she’s going to cut 5 inches and I can’t have her betting closer to my missing length, but what would she guess? Probably something small if she has a similar line of thinking that I did. I’m going to have to do something drastic and remove at least 10 inches, that’s going to suck but I can’t lose at my gameshow and there’s no way she expects me to chop off so much.’ Heather grabs the tape and stretches it out to 10 inches evening it up with the ends of her hair then grabs a tie and pulls all the hair at the measuring tape together into a low ponytail. Picking up the scissors she places them right at the top of the tie and starts snipping away releasing the hair and it all dumps onto the floor. She sighs heavily “Alright, 10 inches should be enough.”
Heather heads back to her podium, the audience cheering her re-emergence, as Erika starts walking up to her tape measure in hand, Delilah is nowhere to be seen. “Alright Heather, let’s see how much you were willing to give up.” Erika holds the tape up to Heathers head and checks out the number “Ohhhh, 28 inches left you bet 10 inches on the hopes that it’s more than Delilah. We hope it was worth it, but we have to wait for Delilah to leave her barber’s.” As Erika says finishes her sentence the door to Delilah’s storefront whips open revealing that her formally knee length blonde ringlets were all cut down to a bob that neatly sits around her ears The crowd, Erika, the cameramen, Julia, and Heather all react in shock upon noticing. Delilah smiles brightly as she gets to her podium. ‘Holy shit, she got rid of nearly everything.’ Heather thinks ‘I couldn’t have been more wrong with my guess. SHIT that means I’ve just lost my own show!’ Heather breathe quickens. “Wow Delilah, what a drastic change! But let’s see specifically how drastic.” Erika puts the tape measure up to Delilah’s remaining hair and pulls out the tape “5 inches! My goodness Delilah you were not messing around today, you lost 40 inches of hair for the sake of the victory. You definitely would win the bonus reward but that’s only if you guessed a number closer to Heather’s chopped 10 inches than she did for yours. Let’s find out right now!” ‘Okay, okay, calm down woman maybe she drastically over guessed. I mean I was only off by 35 inches maybe she bet that I was going to lose 36 inches, I mean it would be insane to think I’d shave myself down to 2 inches but maybe she took me as a crazy.’ The crowd makes a raucous noise at this announcement and Erika is handed the contestants pieces of paper from earlier. “Let’s start with Delilah’s guess.” The paper is unfolded and Erika reads it off “12 inches gosh that is close,” ‘FUCK’ “but the real question is did Heather guess closer that Delilah was going to chop off either 39 or 41 inches?” Erika unfolds the paper, as the crowd rumbles with anticipation “And Heather’s guess… as to how much hair Delilah was willing to lose… is… 5 INCHES!” The crowd explodes with noise as Heather sinks to her knees. ‘SHIT, SHIT, SHIT, SHIT, SHIT’ Heather repeats to herself. “Congratulations Heather by giving up just 40 inches of hair you’ve won yourself $10,000 and an all-expense paid week long vacation to the Bahamas! And Heather I’m so sorry but you gave up 10 inches of hair for no real reason, however we aren’t done yet.” ‘WHAT?!’ Heather shouts in her head ‘OH FUCK NO! I FORGOT THE FORFEIT! Why the fuck did I ever have that put in there?!’ “That’s right Ladies and Gents like I said in the beginning the woman who lost the bet has to let her opponent cut off an amount of hair equal to the amount they cut off!” ‘Oh god why did I implement this shit?! Oh Christ and she cut off so much, that means… that means she’s gonna…’ Erika turns to Delilah “And since you chopped off an astounding 40 inches of your own hair and Heather’s remaining hair only measures 28 inches you’re going to have to shave her head!” ‘shave my head!’ Heather thinks as Erika speaks. The audience gasps at the revelation and Delilah steps towards Heather putting her hand on her shoulder “C’mon then, may as well get this over with quickly.” She says as Heather stands up and walks solemnly towards the opposite storefront she exited.
Delilah leads her to the large leather chair and she sinks into its deep cushion. Tears start streaking down her face as Delilah picks the clippers up without any guard ‘Fuck, she’s just going right into it! Dammit I can’t believe how much I screwed myself by signing up for this.’ “Get ready.” Delilah says as she looks at Heather’s tear-stained face, she walks behind the chair with the clippers held high and the two women lock eyes. The clippers click on and the buzzing echoes through the room, Heather closes her eyes tight as the droning machine moves closer to her head. The whirring noise grows louder in her ears and she flinches as it drops to a hungry growl her body tensing as she prepares for the feeling of the vibrations on her scalp, but it never comes. Slowly peeling open one eyelid Heather looks around confused ‘What happened, did she change her mind? Was she not willing to shave another woman’s head? Wait no I can hear the clippers moving right above me. What is she doing?’ Heather looks again for the source of the noise as a lock of hair floats past her face ‘The hell?’ She looks up into the mirror and is stunned to see Delilah taking the clippers to her own hair. “I couldn’t bear to have you suffer through this alone, especially seeing you cry.” Heather takes a shaky breath “How were you willing to just shave your head like that, your hair was sp beautiful.” Delilah smirks “My hair is a real pain in my ass; it’s always in my way at work. I’ve been wanting to do this for a while and when I saw this show being advertised I figured it was a sign. What about you, if you’re so upset about losing your hair why did you agree to coming on?” another deep, shaky breath from Heather “I’m actually the creator of the show and the other contestant cancelled on us and if we didn’t get another person my employer was gonna cancel the show and I’ve worked for two years to get this show on the air so I couldn’t just have it end before any actual ratings so I decided that it fell on me to make sure this happened and now I’ve just lost my own goddamned gameshow and I’m gonna have my head shaved and I feel like I’m just a fuck up at everything and I can’t manage to do anything right, not even win my own fucking show.” Heather begins crying again “Hey, hey, hey come on don’t cry again. You are an incredible brave and dedicated woman that alone is a reason is a reason to be proud. And who cares if you lost or about your hair, you got a show of your own creation on television, that’s incredible. So clear your eyes, dry your face, and help me out here. I can’t see the back of my head and I don’t wanna walk out of here looking like Little John.” Heather laughs at the remark and takes the clippers out of Delilah’s hand as they switch spots.
The roaring clippers shake in her hand as she starts cleaning up the back of Delilah’s head, stripping away the last few inches of blonde locks. “There we go, all clean.” Heather says “Not quite, it wouldn’t be fair for me to leave here with anymore hair than you.” Heather blinks perplexed “What do you… oh right 40 inches…” “Yeah, sorry.” “No, no it’s fine. I’m the one that came up with this forfeit, maybe I should do away with it for the show proper, if that even happens. Not like any other women are going to risk having their heads shaved.” Delilah grunts “Mmm, I don’t know we were and I doubt we’re the only women in the state like this. You’ll just have to increase the area you advertise in.” Delilah jumps as the unexpected shaving cream touches her head “Jesus that’s cold!” “Sorry!” Heather begins smoothing the cream over Delilah’s hair and pulls out a safety razor. The razor rasps as it shaves away the fuzz left on Delilah’s head leaving a pale path of skin “That however feels amazing.” Delilah croons “Really?” “Yeah, I wouldn’t have expected it either, but it’s like a sensual kiss. Trust me you won’t be half as nervous when it’s your turn.” Heather quickly hurries up and denudes the rest of Delilah’s hair “Wow, Delilah you look gorgeous!” “Really you think so? Sure I don’t just look like a weird alien?” The two girls laugh “Yes I’m sure. You look like one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever laid my eyes on, one of the most beautiful people in general even.” Delilah stands up and grabs Heather’s hands “Well, I’m sure you’ll look even better when you’re done.” And she leans in for a deep kiss “Th-thanks.” Heather says flustered after they separate.
Heather sits down in the chair and Delilah powers the clippers back on quickly pulling them straight through the centre of Heather’s hair. The feeling of the vibrations is a lot more comforting than she feared and soon Heather finds herself enjoying them very much not wanting it to end. Making sure she got everything even Delilah runs her hands through what’s left of Heather’s head “Mmmm, that does feel nice.” Heather moans “And just wait until you’re smooth, it’s amazing.” “Ohhh, if it’s better than this I don’t think I’ll be able to take it…mmm.” Heather begins stroking her panties “I wouldn’t do that if I was you Ms. Matthews,” Delilah chuckles “you still have to face a live studio audience when we’re done here.” Heather’s panting “You’re… right… that… would be… embarrassing…” “Besides if you have all the fun now, what are we going to do when we get to my place after the taping?” Heather smiles back at Delilah as she sprays the cream over her head and starts shaving away at the leftover fuzz. “Oh my god you were so right about this being better than the clippers.” The razor smoothly glides along her head and soon both women are smooth and shining. Heather stands up “Well, I guess it’s time to reveal our new selves to the world.” Delilah takes her hand again “Together.” And she steals another kiss before they walk out the door.
“Ladies and gentlemen, here they return. OUR BRAVE CONTESTAAaaa…” Erika cuts herself off as she and the audience are stunned by the two women’s new appearances “My god,” Erika mutters “they look amazing… uhhh oh shit,” She brings the mike back up “OUR BRAVE CONTESTANTS! AREN’T THEY BEAUTIFUL EVERYONE?” The crowd burst with praise and cheers louder than any other time. The rest of their time on set is spent as Delilah receives her check for the 10 grand and tropical trip paperwork, everyone talking, celebrating, congratulating, and such as the credits roll. Julia calls wrap on the set and thanks the audience for joining them before turning to Heather, Delilah, and Erika. “Erika you did amazing as emcee. I hope that you’ll want to continue working with us.” Erika laughs “If they’re all going to be as unexpected as this one you better believe I’m on board.” “That’s great Erika, thank you.” Heather says “Oh, of course Ms. Matthews and can I say you and Delilah here put on way more of a show than I would have ever expected out of this show.” “I was just as surprised by the outcome Ms. Styles.” The 4 women all laugh as Delilah walks up to Heather and entwines their arms “Julia, Ms. Judge have some personal matters to attend to. I trust you to take care of anything important that may pop up.” Julia’s eyes widen “Uhm, Yes Ms. Matthews. Goodbye Ms. Judge” The two girls wave goodbye as they exit the studio “So, I believe you invited me to your place?” Heather says as she plants a kiss on Delilah’s head.
