Dues Paid by Jerrod

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Darren considered his long red hair his best attribute. He had not had his hair cut short since he was a youth. All through high school he kept his hair longer. Even while on the swim team he did not cut his hair short or shave his head as some did. For he performed just as well if not better than his teamates who shaved everyhting off. Others on the team tried to get him to do it for larger meets. Darren held his ground. Upon enterin college he had no problem making the swim team. Proving he was a swimmer to be reckoned with. His freshman year his abilities were immediately recognized by the coaches. His teamates accepted his swimming prowress and in his sophomore year became co-captain.

Some considered him vain and aloof when it came to his hair and contiinual grooming. He was adament about keeping his hair and not cutting it. Not even when the others cut their hair short or shaved. Two on the team were constantly on him to cut his hair or shave his head. Travis and Josh decided to take matters into their own hands. Unkown to the rest of the team they hatched a plan that would prove disasterous for all concerned.The two of them decided to put a hair removal cream in both the shampoo and hair conditioner, which Darren used almost daily. The particular one they chose was a powerful retardent and removal cream. It was used by body builders who wanted hairless bodies and in some cases heads.

The two of them added a full bottle split between the conditioner and shampoo. Then waited with eagerness to see the result. It did not take long before the results of their sordid plan unfolded. Darren had gone into the shower room to wash,shampoo and condition his hair after swimming one day. Everybody heard the most horrible scream-My Hair-I am Bald! And sure enough Darren`s head was almost totally bald except for a few strands. The rest of his hair on the shower floor of the locker room. Travis and Josh muffled their giggles, the rest of the team were horrified. Immediatley the coaches demanded who was responsible for this. Neither Travis nor Josh owned up to it and the rest of the team knew nothing.

It did not take long for the coaches to put one and one together and come up with two-Travis and Josh. After in depth questioning they admitted what they had done. The rest of the team was furious with them. Darren was beside himself with is head bald and red from the hair removal cream. Luckily, he suffered no damage to his scalp. The greatest harm seemed to be a very bruised ego. Disciplinary action needed to be taken. At the request of the rest of the team it was left to them. The team swarmed on Travis and Josh and with Darren`s help lathered both with the doctored shampoo. They screamed and howled to no avail as their heads were covered as well as their bodies from the neck down. Then to take a step furthur both had theirs eyebrows shaved off.

As for Darren he could not face his forced baldness. He obtained a wig but discovered it irritated his scalp. He had to resign himself to being bald until his hair grew back. Everybody knew what happened on campus. Just about everyone was understanding. Travis and Josh were outcasts for their action. The rest of the team kept their heads shaved in support of Darren. Which gave him a boost. As the weeks went on his hopes though for a rich thick full head of hair were dashed. Very little hair grew back at all.

To his dismay after in depth medical review and examination he found out his hair follicles and been permanately damaged. A full head of hair for Darren was most likely almost impossible. He had to accept his bald head with extreme reluctance and shave off what little remained. From then on Darren was bald for ever through no fault of his own. As for Travis and Josh they did not fair much better. Both remained bald not a hair on their heads. And even their eyebrows did not grow back to what they were. Josh who had a fair amount of body hair found that too did not return. They paid their dues.

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