Jenny’s Pledge (Part 4)
“So it all comes down to this.” Judy said as she lifted my silky mane of hair and brushed through it. All night the rest of the girls had been brushing out my hair, possibly in memory of the hair they couldn’t play with anymore. Judy had been the first, her black curls hair now grown out to her shoulder blades, but while her hair was indeed lovely it had been nowhere near as beautiful as the rest of our manes. Janet had been next, her short, pixie like style was just a faint shadow of the envy inducing light blond thigh length hair that had once covered her head. And now Jackie, poor Jackie who had just come to love her waist length strawberry blond locks, had just lost all her beautiful hair because her time was up. That left me and me alone, my hair the last survivor in a group of hair heroes.
“One year from tonight Jessica, oh, I almost forgot.” Jackie reached into her purse and pulled out a crisp hundred dollar bill. I wasn’t going to bring up the lost bet tonight, but she seemed to be on it. “Good job.”
“Thanks, any chance I can call off my shave for 33 dollars and 33 cents a piece?” I joked.
“I don’t think so…” Janet laughed, “but… I have a proposition for you.” Janet said.
“Go on.” I could hear that she had something she was excited about in mind.
“Well, I’m debating if I want to grow my hair back or not, and I liked that bet you and Jackie had going, so here’s the deal. I’m going to grow my hair out over the next year with you.”
“Alright.” I commented.
“The day before the shave we measure our hair, and if your hair grows out more than mine does, then clearly I need more time to catch up to you and you have to keep your date with the clippers.”
“OK.” I said. I liked where this was going, especially if it meant I would have a chance to do what I think she was alluding at, no matter how small the chance.
“But… if mine grows faster than yours, then clearly it’s not a big deal to grow it back out. If that’s the case, then I’ll shave my new head of hair and you will get to keep yours.”
“WHAT?!?” Jackie and Judy yelled. “That’s not fair! All three of us had to shave, why does she get to keep her hair?” Jackie protested.
“She may not, it’s just a wager, the pledge says we have to rotate every year, we never said all of us had to take a turn under the razor.”
“Whatever, you’re just trying t tempt her into trimming her hair in secret so it doesn’t beat your record.”
Janet seemed taken aback for a second, but then just smiled and said “Well if that’s the case then that’s just an added bonus.” She looked back at me. “So how about it?”
I just smiled and held out my hand. “Deal.” And we shook.
Two months later our bet was well under way and our hair was locked in a growing race. Whoever grew more hair would not only lose, but have to shave off their newly grown manes. In just over eight weeks Janet’s hair had grown out from her pixie length style into a mid-neck length bob. It was clear to see that her amazing mane still had the natural gift of growing at an unbelievable rate, and if anyone else had wagered with her they clearly would have lost to her within a matter of months.
On the other hand my magnificent mane was also “cursed” to grow at an alarming rate, and as Janet’s mane crept down her neck to its new length mine followed suit and went from the top of my bum all the way to the bottom. During those first two months I was deeply tempted to trim a tiny portion off every few weeks or so to help with the race, but cheating just wasn’t like me, and I allowed my mane to grow untouched even if it meant its eventual destruction. Luckily, with all the expensive treatments and deep conditionings my friend spoiled me with my hair didn’t split, fray, or even look damaged at the ends as it continued to grow, so it looked like being Follicle queen had its perks after all.
Two more months went by, my hair continued to creep down past my buttocks while looking more beautiful with every treatment. Before long we were at the halfway mark and my thick, silky hair now began to creep down my thighs while Janet’s fell to just above her shoulder blades. It was hard to measure whose hair had grown more with the naked eye, as shifts, styles, and hair movement made it all but impossible, but my confidence in my hair’s length wavered almost everyday. There were days when I was sure my hair was doomed because it looked like it had grown so much more than Janet’s, but other days it looked like Janet’s hair was outgrowing mine by a mile.
Nine months into our wager my hair fell well past my thighs while Janet’s trickled down below her shoulder blades. My hair continued to race onward, and the day before Jennifer’s birthday my hair now fell mere inches above my knees. I sat at my vanity that night, wearing my pajamas and a thick blue satin robe as I brushed my insanely long and breathtakingly beautiful locks in front of a mirror. Looking at my hair I felt a deep hope well up that my hair hadn’t grown as long as Janet’s, a hope that I foolishly allowed to remain.
While my hair had indeed grown out remarkably long in just one short year, Janet’s had grown to nearly the middle of her back. Now my hair was in serious jeopardy and for the first time ever I was debating whether or not to snip some off at the bottoms so I could keep my hair safe. As much as I would like to however I kept talking myself out of this idea for several reasons. First of all was the fact that I had come this far without cheating and I wasn’t going to start the night before the big event. The second was that technically my hair wasn’t supposed to stay on my head after tomorrow, so keeping it was more of a privilege than a right.
Finally, and strangest of all, was the fact that I was the only one in the group yet to shave her head. I had watched my friends one by one as their beautiful hair was severed from their heads, and even though I had come to love my beautiful long hair at this amazing length, I felt like a fish out of water, the last outcast if you will. A part of me, albeit a very small part, now longed to join my friends and the feeling they had while their amazing hair was slowly being peeled away. As I sat there brushing my waterfall of silken locks I realized that my losing my hair was almost a necessity if I wanted back into our little circle, and as I draped my mass of shining hair over my shoulder to continue brushing it I almost longed for the idea of losing it in a strange way.
Twenty hours later it was 9:30 at night and my three friends were gathered at my place as we chatted excitedly about what was in store. I felt a deep, deep sadness at the prospect that I had less than half an hour left with my hair, but I didn’t let it show as I laughed and talked with my three best friends, the tiara of the Follicle Queen perched on my beautiful shining mane. Janet and I were sitting next to each other and my long shining locks were being doted on by Judy while Jackie happily returned to pampering Janet’s reborn hair. Even though my mood was light and happy as Judy ran a brush through my silky locks I kept stealing sideways glances at Janet’s hair, it now hung just above the middle of her back and swung as softly and beautifully as I remembered it had in the days before this crazy pledge. Was this wonderful, long, platinum blond hair going to be the end of my mane? It was close, VERY close.
Alm
ost as if reading my mind Judy asked “Do you think she beat you?” as she continued to run the brush slowly and softly through my silky mass of poker straight, golden brown, coppery hair, hair that shined brilliantly and was the color of a well toasted marshmallow.
ost as if reading my mind Judy asked “Do you think she beat you?” as she continued to run the brush slowly and softly through my silky mass of poker straight, golden brown, coppery hair, hair that shined brilliantly and was the color of a well toasted marshmallow.
“I really don’t know,” I replied as I watched my hair flutter with the stroked of the brush, “what do you think?”
“Honestly hun, feeling all this hair on your head, and seeing how long it’s gotten, I’d be a fool if I didn’t tell you to enjoy it while you still can, and to make your peace with losing it.” I felt like I had been socked in the stomach, but she was right. Janet’s hair had grown incredibly long over the last year, but looking at my glistening mane that fell just above my knees made me realize that my hair was as good as doomed.
“Not a chance Judy, my girl Janet is going to be as bald as she was on the night of her shearing. Just look at all of this,” Jackie exclaimed, holding up a handful of Janet’s silvery hair, “no WAY you can grow anything longer than that in a year.” Jackie’s words gave me hope that my hair would still be intact by the end of the night, but a tiny part of me wanted otherwise.
“I agree with Jackie, I think all this work I put into my hair is going to be gone in half an hour.” Janet replied, but all I could think was Oh my God, 25 minutes until it’s time.
“Want to bet on it?” I asked bravely as I brushed some lint off of my blouse. I was wearing a pink satin button up blouse over a white tank top and black yoga pants. I had chosen this outfit because the natural shine of the pink satin really complimented the brilliant shimmer of my amazing hair.
“How so?” Janet replied, a smile on her face.
“Let’s face it Janet, none of us liked that short style you were sporting last year, so if you lose and get to keep your hair you have to grow it AT LEAST back to the length it was the night of our pledge so we can all enjoy it in the absence of my hair.” Janet sat silently as she thought about our proposal. “I mean think about it Janet, you HAVE to give Jackie something to play with if I have no more hair.” Jackie smirked in my direction, but Janet seemed to have been convinced.
“OK, but in return, if YOU lose and I have to shave my head tonight, then you need to keep your hair at the length it is right now until I can grow mine back to at least my shoulder blades.” I feigned thinking about this deal like it was a bad idea, but in reality if I got to keep my hair tonight I had planned on continuing to grow it out to my knees just for the hell of it.
“Deal. You lose your hair, I keep mine as it is.” We shook on it just as Jackie looked up and announced that we were twenty-five minutes away from the shave and that they were going to measure our hair now. Jackie’s own hair had grown back out to just above her shoulder blades, but she told me she was waiting until it was below them to cut her bangs back into her hair.
As the minutes continued to tick away Judy and Jackie each took a turn measuring my hair and Janet’s hair. They spent several minutes tallying the new measurements with the measurements they had taken exactly one year ago, and as the minutes ticked away I twirled a long lock around my pointer finger as I grew more anxious for the answer. Time ticked on and on, and finally at 9:51, just seven minutes before the shave was set to begin, they announced the winner.
“The winner with the fastest growing hair… by ¾ of an inch is…” Judy began, then paused for suspense. The pause seemed to last forever, even though it was probably only five seconds, and then she looked at me and I knew then and there that my hair was going to be gone about ten minutes from now. “Jessica!“
Judy, Janet and Jackie all began clapping as I grabbed a handful of hair from both sides of my head and buried my face in the soft, silky pile of hair I held in my hands. I was laughing along with them, but inside I was dying a little. As strange as it felt though, that tiny part of me that longed to join them seemed to swell up with excitement.
The next few minutes went by with congratulatory shots being poured for me, which I happily downed in preparation for what was to come. As the clock hit 9:55 Judy started a separate three minute countdown for the end of my hair. In that time Jackie finished brushing it out in its full silky soft glory, then removed the tiara and placed it on the vanity in front of me as Judy fired up the clippers to test them out for the big event. It was amazing how fast 175 seconds passed, and before I knew it I was running my fingers through my silky hair one last time as the clock counted down from five seconds.
“5…” Everyone yelled as I released my long, silky hair for the last time and commited the feeling to memory.
“4…” Judy flipped on the clippers and just like those before me, I jumped a little at the sound, feeling the whisper of my beautiful mane as it fluttered softly around me.
“3…” Judy brought the clippers to my forehead as I laughed at my nervous leap, but in reality I wanted to scream Get those god damn things away from my head!
“2…” The clippers touched my forehead, and with a tiny whimper I shut my eyes.
“1…” Judy slowly brought the clippers back towards the front of my silky mane, and in that moment I decided that I was going to say goodbye to my beautiful long mane with pride, so my eyes snapped open as I looked at myself in the mirror out of the corner of my eye.
“ZERO!” Just like with Janet I felt that slight moment of silent pause, and then it was gone as I felt the clippers continue up and nibble away at the very front of my hairline.
There was a significant change in pitch with the clippers as my thick, soft hair slowed down the blades, but after a second I heard the hungry hum of the evil clippers rise once more and began the destruction of my beautiful, silky hair. I sat there staring straight forward, putting on a brave face but feeling my breathing increase as I felt the clippers begin peeling away my luscious mane of shining satin. As the clippers plowed back towards the back of my head a part of me refused to believe that my hair was really disappearing in front of my very eyes.
It’s just a trick part of my mind thought, it’s just the others playing a trick on you. The clippers are a fake, in a few seconds you’re going to look in the mirror and see your hair exactly as it was. That part of my mind continued to think that way for almost four seconds, but when the first stray strands of my amazing curtain of hair fell around my eyes and onto the floor I felt that part of my mind instantly fall silent. Before long massive amounts of knee length, silky straight golden brown hair began raining down around my head, and as Judy finished the first pass with the clippers I looked up at the mirror to see a small strip of bare scalp alone in a sea of gorgeous, shining silk. I realized that this tiny strip was just a pre-curser of what was going to happen to my hair, and before long this strip would spread outward to consume every inch of my beautiful thick mane.
Judy quickly made this revelation a reality as she placed the clippers slightly off center to the left and began peeling away the hair on that side of my head first. One swipe, two swipes, three swipes, Judy continued to separate my hair from my head like an expert. As my hair tumbled to the ground Jackie and Janet took it upon themselves to pick up my
thick hair and place it in my lap, and as I looked at the growing pile of hair I was blown away by how much hair I truly had. Before long there was enough hair to stuff a pillow with, and at this rate it looked like before long there would be enough to stuff a bed mattress with! Judy continued severing my hair until the last trace left on the right side of my head was the hair on my right temple, but with a quick swipe the last remaining trace on the right side of my head fluttered softly to the floor.
thick hair and place it in my lap, and as I looked at the growing pile of hair I was blown away by how much hair I truly had. Before long there was enough hair to stuff a pillow with, and at this rate it looked like before long there would be enough to stuff a bed mattress with! Judy continued severing my hair until the last trace left on the right side of my head was the hair on my right temple, but with a quick swipe the last remaining trace on the right side of my head fluttered softly to the floor.
I hazarded another glance at myself in the mirror, which was now half covered with stubble and half still adorned with a silky jungle of satin soft knee length tresses. The contrast was quite shocking, especially when it was on my head instead of Jackie’s, but Judy began instantly changing this strange contrast by evening it out for the worse. The clippers mowed down a huge swath of hair just to the left of center, replacing soft, silky knee length locks with harsh, sharp stubble. As I felt all traces of warm silkiness continue to slowly vanish from my head I felt like my very soul was dying with every strand of long shining satin.
My lush mane continued to dwindle away as I watched helplessly, and before long the last strand of hair left was swiped away without ceremony. As the last few strands of hair floated to the ground I forced myself not to cry at my loss, after all, each of my friends had surrendered their beautiful hair to the hungry clippers as well, even if their hair hadn’t been half as nice as mine. I placed my huge mound of hair down as I slowly got to my feet and looked at myself in the mirror, noticing how drastically different my face looked without a curtain of golden brown locks framing it. An hour ago I had been looking at an attractive girl with beautiful, envy inducing hair, now I saw the same girl’s face without the amazing hair framing it. It was over, the pledge was complete, and as the last hairless victim in the room, I knew I could start growing my hair back to its former glory immediately. Strangely though, a part of me felt awakened at seeing my hair fall victim to the clippers, and that part of me felt like laughing. The pressure of a clock attached to my hair was gone, but somehow I still felt that this was only the beginning of what was to come for my hair…
One year and 364 days later I was sitting at my vanity brushing my hair like that night from just over 2 years ago, the golden brown shine of my hair shimmering just as beautifully as it did that night. Everything felt the same, even though there was so very much different from that night. My vanity now rested in a new house that I had moved into, my bedroom in the reflection now completely different, and my hair now hung down to the small of my back instead of hanging to just above my knees. Still though, some things stayed the same: my hair was still just as soft and beautiful as it had been back then, our pledge had started again, and tomorrow night, so very much hair was going to fall…
But this time, it wouldn’t be mine. The year after our pledge ended Jenny’s birthday rolled around again, but without a hair sacrifice to make it official the night didn’t feel like we were honoring her memory at all. So as the night ended and we were ready to part ways we all promised that we would make our pledges once again and begin fresh the next year. Tomorrow night Judy would begin the cycle all over again by losing her bouncing, shining black curls, which now hung below her bra strap. In a year it would be Janet’s turn to lose her beautiful platinum locks, which she had continued to grow out and now hung to just below her butt. A year after her Jackie would be forced to chop off her shining strawberry blonde mane, which now hung to her waist and sported her trademark bangs in the front.
And finally, in three years and one day from now I would be forced to say goodbye to my shimmering treasure of golden brown silk. I planned on continuing to grow it out, but I didn’t know for how much longer I would keep my resolve. Would I still be this excited as my hair began to creep past my butt? And then my hips? How about when it reached my knees? Or would I go all the way and grow it out to my ankles before the clippers unceremoniously stole it away from me again? I didn’t know, I just knew that a part of me was already excited for that night… and that shave.
