Hotseat by Ethan Fox

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(FULL CREDIT TO CATEGORY & CLIPPERS BY BRAD because i took HEAVY inspiration from him, what a brilliant story and concept- i hope you don’t mind my spinoff)

"Hello all and welcome to the Hotseat!" The booming voice of the TV Announcer deep with bass and bravado rung out throughout the studio, "With your host Mason Whitmore!" the crowd erupted as a man of average height with long wavy blonde hair and a charismatic smile walked out. He greeted the crowd emphatically with a wave, relishing in their cheers. He walked across the stage right into he center and smiled at all the people.

The stage was decorated plainly enough, the host’s spot having a black floor in front of a massive tv screen currently displaying the Hotseat logo. His stand had a stack of cue cards on it, and a small stool for him to sit on. The back of the stage bore the same Hotseat logo, as well as the streaming service’s and all the sponsors. The corner of the stage opposite had three chairs- they seemed to be barber’s chairs? The barber chairs were red leather complete with foot rests and arm rests. Behind the chairs stood three men in tunics with a desk full of clippers and other tools beside them, scissors and spray bottles; anything a barber could need.

"Hi hi- yes, hello everyone welcome to the new game show taking the streaming world by storm- or at least that’s the hope!" He paused letting the applause ring from the crowd, "And what will pay my bills until I finally get the call from Hollywood-" the audience laughed as Mason stood there relishing in his own joke, smiling at the camera.

"But truly it is my honour to be here in front of you all as we begin what will hopefully be a long journey with Hotseat, but I think we’ve all heard enough of my jibbing and jabbing- which you can hear more of on the nightcast, 10pm every night! A little shameless self promotion never hurt anyone. How about we get our contestants out here?" Mason Whitmore asked the audience. Screams and cheers of "Yes" answered his question, "Alllright then! First please welcome Beckett!"

The crowd chanted "Beckett Beckett Beckett" as a tall young man with a brown and curly shoulder-length mullet entered the stage from the left door. His skin was tanned, it was evident that he spent a lot of time in the sun. Beckett was outfitted in the fresh youthful style of a blue flannel to go with a pair of ripped jeans. He didn’t have exactly a muscular build, but you could tell he was toned. Mason Whitmore shook his hand and wrapped an arm around Beckett and showed him off to the audience, "So Beckett my boy, tell the viewers: what do you do?"

"Hi, I’m Beckett- I’m from Dallas and I’m a baseball player," He smiled a little timidly out to the audience who cheered in response, "Excited to be here man."

"Nice, well welcome Beckett from Dallas, you’re our first official contestant on Hotseat. Please, go take your seat in one of our contestant chairs." Mason smiled, gesturing to the three chairs on the side of the stage, slightly pushing Beckett over.

Beckett walked over to the trio of leather barber chairs and looked over each of them. He settled on the far left one; he took a seat and leaned back, resting his arms on the arm rests. He looked over at Mason and smiled, "It’s comfortable. I feel right at home," he chuckled as he reclined in the chair.

"That’s good to hear man! Now let’s welcome our second contestant, Andrew!" Mason Whitmore gestured back to the door that Beckett first came out of as a short, thin young man walked out. Andrew was of Asian decent, not too tall but not short at all. He walked in with his hands folded behind his back. His face was small but slightly long as he waved with both hands at the camera before using his right hand to hide his smile. 

Mason met him and the exact same way he did Beckett and smiled to the camera, "So tell us about yourself Andrew."

"Hi! I’m Andrew- I’m a Korean-American and an architect student from New York!" Andrew softly put out, glancing from one side of the audience to the other. He played with his long fringe, running a hand through his hair. His fringe was in his eyes and the back of his hair barely reached his collar. If you looked close enough through all the hair, you could see Andrew’s ears barely protruding out.

"I bet you’re having trouble seeing the audience, don’t worry- we’ll help with that," Mason laughed heartily, clapping Andrew (who looked very startled by the comment) on the back, "Go take the seat next to our friend Beckett over there."

Andrew mustered a small laugh before quickly moving away from Mason. He trotted over to Beckett and quickly shook his hand, "Nice to meet you-" they both exchanged before Andrew settled in the barber chair in the middle. He rested his hands in his lap and sat straight up.

"And now our final contestant, Joshua!" Mason repeated the gesture for a third and final time, as a young blonde tall man walked out on stage. Freckles covered his face as he walked straight in. He waved at the audience, his blonde hair was curly but pretty clean cut with a solid taper. He met Mason with a handshake.

"Well Joshua, tell us about yourself!"

"I’m Joshua, I’m from Miami and I’m studying to be a pilot right now," He smiled, cracking his knuckles.

"Wonderful! wonderful- now, see our other two contestants," Mason said, pointing to them. This earned a nod from Joshua who made his way to sit over in the chair to the right of Andrew. He exchanged quick greetings and handshakes with both contestants before settling in on the chair on the far right.

"Alright! Now that all our contestants are seated, gentlemen!" Mason Whitmore boomed out, smiling to the three men behind the chairs.

The three men behind the chairs in perfect unison, wrapped a barber’s cape around each of the contestants and tied it before any of them could react. Each one of the contestants started to rise in protest before each one of their barbers quickly pressed them against the back of their chairs, before they could even get a word in.

"It is now time to go over the rules of Hotseat!" Mason smiled looking at the contestants, "One at a time, I’m going to ask each of you a trivia question from a random category and you will have to answer the question. Get it wrong and it’ll cost you some locks of your hair. On Hotseat we operate on the rules of 3 strikes and you’re bald. One strike and you’ll probably be walking out of here with a shorter version of the haircut you have. Two strikes and our barbers can clip you in any way they deem fit. Three strikes and what?" Mason gestured to the audience who responded with yells of ‘bald’, "The winner will walk out $10,000 richer. Any questions gentlemen?"

The three contestants, drowning in their capes, only their heads visible looked back at Mason while their jaws dropped and eyes open in disbelief. Andrew shook his head, glancing between the two boys on either side of him, making sure that he was hearing the same thing that they were. All three of them looked at each other, nodding slightly in acknowledgement of the rules that they were being forced to abide by.

"Our first round of questions will be from what you all answered as your strongest categories on the pre-show questionnaire, we’ll start with you Beckett and we’ll work our way to Joshua and then we’ll do the next round in reverse order," Mason Whitmore announced, "Alright Beckett, your category is sports!"

Beckett sat straight up in the seat, a small look of confidence at the category on his face.

"Your question is: The Houston Oilers left Houston, and became what current NFL Team?"

A smile crept on Beckett’s face as he sighed in relief, "The Tennessee Titans!" He called out.

Mason Whitmore smirked as the whole crowd fell silent… a pause- a ding noise played over the speakers! It was correct. "Congratulations on surviving the first question in Hotseat History! Now its Andrew’s turn," He said turning his glance to a nervous Andrew who was biting his lip, "Now Andrew- its only hair, there’s no reason to be nervous," He chuckled, "Your category is Disney trivia! What’re the names of Cinderella’s stepsisters?"

Andrew took a deep breath looking down before muttering out, "Anastasia and Drizella?" He said it more as a question than an answer and gasped when he heard the ding.

"Oh darn!" Mason laughed, "I was hoping I’d get to see some of that hair peeled off. You know a sharp haircut would do wonders for your confidence!" He said with the audience vocally agreeing with him causing a frown to appear on Andrew’s face.

"Joshua, if you get this one right that means that the first round of Hotseat will see now hair on the ground. Your category? History…" Mason looked down at the cue card to read the question, "What day did the Second World War begin?"

"September 1st, 1939," Joshua said with complete confidence, so it came to no one’s surprise when the correct ‘ding’ sounded out, leaving Mason to sigh.

"Please stay with us after this quick break, where I promise we’ll see some clipper action!" Mason said as the broadcast went to commercial.

"Welcome back from commercial!" Mason projected above the applause of the audience, "Welcome to Round 2 where we will pack back up with Joshua. As you notice, there are three full heads of hair in those barber chairs. And its production’s job to change that. Round 2, the categories are random; so Joshua your category is Geography… Really guys? You’re giving geography to the person who said their best category was history. They’re going easy for episode one eh?" He said as the audience applauded in response, "Anyways- I’ll write my complaints down before episode two, your question Joshua is What African Country was formerly known as Abyssinia?"

"Ethiopia!" Joshua quickly answered, leaning back in his chair.

"Oh come on guys-" Mason rolled his eye as the ding played, "Look at blondie over here getting overconfident on question two, wait till some of those curls come off and then we’ll see how we feel," He jeered as the audience laughed. Joshua tried his best to smile, but the small movement of his lips before he smiled showed how bothered he was by that statement, "And we’re back to Andrew, who’s category is…" Mason paused picking up the next cue card, leaving Andrew to try to steady his breathing, "science!"

Andrew swallowed as the question was read out to him, "What is the name for a triangle with two equal sides?"

"I- i-" Andrew shook his head in doubt, "Isosceles…" He finally got out. Andrew held his breath and didn’t let go until he heard the ding and knew he was safe.

"Beckett we’re on to you, but first I gotta ask you a question?" Mason said, looking over at the far left contestant, "Baseball? The mullet ever get in the way?"

"No sir-" Beckett shook his head before stopping, "Well I guess- I get sweaty man, real sweaty."

"And I bet that mop doesn’t help you out," Mason shot back.

"I guess not sir," Beckett admitted sheepishly, "But but the girls like it man," His face went red slightly as he nodded to himself

"Well if you walk out of here with a smooth chrome dome, I know the girls are gonna love rubbing their hands all over it, so you’re category is entertainment.. Question is Who had an 1980’s hit with the song "Is There Something I should Know?""

Pursing his lip, Beckett looked perplexed as he tried to rack his brain. After about five seconds of silence he blurted out, "Olivia Newton John?

Mason Whitmore could hardly contain his excitement as the incorrect buzzer sounded, "The correct answer was Duran Duran, now Dave would you do us the honours."

The lights dimmed in the studio as a spotlight now shone over Beckett in his chair. Dave, who apparently was the barber grabbed Beckett’s mullet in his left hand and pulled it down harshly, causing Beckett’s head to jerk over the back of the chair. Beckett exclaimed a small cry of pain and surprise as Dave half up a pair of scissors in his right hand that he used to to slowly sever Beckett’s shoulder length hair. He cut it evenly across at the bottom of Beckett’s nape leaving inches of curly brown hair to fall to the floor. He let go and Beckett shook his hair, mouth agape at having lost so much. Dave must’ve cut off about three inches of hair as now Beckett’s mullet wasn’t even a mullet anymore, and all his hair was off his collar.

Beckett chuckled as he leaned forward in the barber’s chair, "Woah- that was like eight months of growth bro-"

"There we go! Finally some hair on the ground, now the score is even as Beckett’s three inch advantage is gone, you were our first contestant and our first victim, congratulations! Now due to our snake order it is your turn again, and it’d be a real shame for you to get two wrong in a row," Mason laid down the stakes, "The category is science… In science and technology, what does the abbreviation "AI" stand for? They’re giving you an easy one to get your momentum back."

"Ahh~" Beckett let out a small chuckle, still recovering from the first blow of the scissors, "Artificial Intelligence…" The ding informed him he was correct.

"Andrew, your category is arts," Mason laughed as he read the question, "I can’t wait to see that hair fall- Your question is what two kinds of opera do the Arts recognise?"

Andrew’s eyes went wide as his lips parted, a silence hung over the audience… ten seconds went by and a timer appeared on the monitor by Mason Whitmore.. 5…4…3..2…

"Verse and and-" The buzzer sounded and Andrew swallowed hard.

"I am sorry- the correct answer was Comic and Grand~ Chuck take it away!,"

The spotlight came down on Andrew as Chuck grabbed his comb and brushed his fringe all the way down so it touches his nose. Andrew tried to blow it out of his face, but Chuck just brushed it right back again. Using his scissors, he cut Andrews bangs at the top of his forehead straight across in one motion. Andrew froze in shock as the audience jeered and laughed. He bit his lip, trying to keep a stone face. He swallowed hard, trying to shake his head to get his fringe back into place… except there was no fringe to move.

"You can see now!" Mason taunted, "How many fingers am I holding up," he laughed as he held up three fingers in Andrew’s direction, "Now don’t be a spoilsport, we’re just having some fun… Next time Chuck maybe we can see his ears too eh?"

"Joshua," Mason continues the questions, "you’re the only one who has a full head of hair… granted with the fact that you have no fringe and tapered sides, that means that the other contestants are finally on equal footing with you. Your category is general…. well someone in our writing room was real creative today- Your question; By U.S Law, exit signs in buildings must be one of what two colors?"

"Red…." Joshua answered, nodding as he tried hard to think of the second color. The audience chirped as the timer showed up, 5… 4… Joshua’s eyes were closed in concentration. 3… 2… "Green!" He called out…. ding!

"That is correct, Joshua is the only one walking out of Round 2 with a full head of hair, but he has to start Round 3, your question is History, you said this was your category," Mason Whitmore held up the cue card, "Which world-changing invention was patented in the US on Valentine’s Day, 1876?"

Joshua paused as the audience began to cheer in anticipation, they knew he wasn’t going to get this one right. Joshua inhaled, his nostril flaring slightly at the magnitude of the inhale. He bopped his head back and forth in thought, "The car?" He guessed…. the buzzer sounded as the audience roared.

"We were looking for The telephone. You know what to do Sam!" Mason roared as the spotlight once again came down, this time though on Joshua. Sam, the barber for the far right chair stepped forward with a pair of balding clippers in his hand. Sam pushed Joshua’s head down so his chin was pushed against his chest in a position where Joshua couldn’t verbally protest even if he wanted to. The only thing Joshua could do was grunt out of surprise. The spotlight was on and Sam was ready to go to work.

Sam turned the clippers on as they hummed to life. Joshua jumped in shock and tried to turn around to see what the noise was. Sam quickly wrapped an arm around the front of Joshua’s chest and leaned his body back against the chair again. He pressed slightly harder on the back of Joshua’s head, making sure he didn’t move again and that his chin was tightly against his chest. The loud and high hum filled the air as the audience was silent, waiting to watch the carnage. Sam slid the clippers methodically across the back of Joshua’s head. His blonde locks fell forward as the audience gasped. Nothing but pale white skin was left as Sam went up the back of his head three times, leaving him bald in the back. Sam then turned Josh’s head to the right before plowing off the left side of his hair in a few swoops. He repeated the same, stripping Joshua off his back and sides, leaving nothing but pale white skin on the back and sides contrasting with his curly top. Sam turned off the clipper and put it back in the desk; the back and sides of Joshua’s head was glowing under the stage light as he stared at the pile of what used to be his hair on his lap. Joshua managed to get a hand outside of the cape and reached up to touch the back of his head. Sam swatted the hand away and Joshua retreated it back under the cape.

"There we go!" Mason’s voice rung out as insult to injury for Joshua, "The first sighting of skin on Hotseat! Thank you so much Joshua, you said you were studying to be a pilot right? Well maybe you can be an Air Force pilot! Look we’re even giving you the haircut for it," Mason laughed at his own joke as Joshua was still looking down at his lap, "What do you say cadet?"

Joshua looked across at Mason and tried to muster a response.

"I believe you’re looking for ‘Sir, thank you for my haircut, sir’." Mason teased over at him.

"Sir… thank you… sir-" Joshua managed to get out, still trying to get over the rapid clipping he endured.

"Say it with conviction cadet!" Mason roared as the audience laughed.

"SIR, thank you for my haircut, SIR!" Joshua said, puffing his chest out under the cape slightly.

Mason laughed this time along with the audience before regaining his composure, "Andrew we’re back to you- wow! I can make eye contact with you this time," Mason turned his attention to Andrew who scoffed at his joke, "Don’t be like that Andrew, just know that losing your fringe was only the beginning. Your category is geography! Question; What major river runs through Seoul?"

"Han… The Han River," Andrew said quickly, and at the sound of the ding he sunk back into his chair.

"That was correct," Mason nodded half impressed and half disappointed, "You get to keep what’s left for now. Onto Beckett, your category Arts!" He laughed as Beckett groaned, "This should be good for a ball player like you, question is; Which famous composer produced his first operas at age 12?"

Beckett blinked as he shrugged making a mental list of every composer he knew, "Mozart?"

Ding

"Dumb luck really does pay off huh?" Mason Whitmore lead the crowd in laughing, "So the score as we go into Round 4 is one strike across the board. Beckett we start with you, category entertainment! Question; Who was the reality show Survivor’s first winner?"

Silence was Beckett’s reply, he shrugged again and let out a little laugh admitting defeat, "I don’t know even know how to come up with a guess for that one," the audience laughed as the timer went from 5 to 1 and the buzzer sounded.

"Correct answer was Richard Hatch. Dave that is strike two! Do whatever you see fit to him," Mason chuckled alongside Beckett.

Dave grabbed the balding clippers at his station as the spotlight shone down on them and flicked them on. He approached Beckett who had a smile on his face half scared and half anticipating what was about to happen. Dave tilted Beckett’s head to the right.

"Woah woah Dave- easy there," Beckett laughed earning a tug to the back of his hair.

Dave plowed the clippers up his left sideburn leaving nothing but skin behind. He went up around the ear until nothing remained on the left side of Beckett’s head. Dave then turned Beckett’s head to the left and repeated the same process on the right side of his head. Beckett was left with some sort of a mullet-mohawk hybrid. The left and right sides of his head were shorn, but he had a curly stripe down the middle from front to back.

The whole crowd laughed at the sight as Mason tried to regain control, "Come Beckett, the girls are gonna love that one, you just have to make sure you can keep it!"

"Does it look alright? This might be my new style!" Beckett said shaking his head, letting what was left of his hair flop around. He laughed once more before beginning to bang his head back and forth like a rockstar, "Aw~ man I bet this looks dope as hell."

"I can attest that it does Beckett, if only you can walk out of here looking like that. But you are one strike away from bald," Mason reminded him the stakes

"Back to Andrew, the only one without skin showing. I gotta ask you- has skin every shown with you?" Mason asked, getting a shake of Andrew’s head in response, "Well let’s see if it’ll stay that way after this question. Category is entertainment… Question being What classic movie’s title character’s first and middle names were Charles Foster?"

"I…" Andrew inhaled, closing his eyes while he thought about it, "Title character?"

"Yes, What classic movie’s title character’s first and middle names were Charles Foster?"

"Charlie Brown?" Andrew said horsely…. the buzzer sounded.

"I’m sorry Andrew, we were looking for Citizen Kane. Production was a bit mean asking a question about Citizen Kane to a college student, but gets what!" Mason turned to the audience, "Andrew, you now get to experience a real man’s cut for the first time. Let him have it Chuck!"

The spotlight came down on Andrew and it was Chuck’s turn to wield the balding clippers and wield him he did. Andrew’s head was pushed straight into his chest as he sniffled slightly. The clippers were turned on and ran from nape to crown until all of his jet black hair was gone. The skin on the back of his head was almost translucent as Chuck shaved off the back and sides. Andrew swallowed hard, nothing but the buzz of the clippers sounding in his ear, the spotlight pouring down on him as the entire audience watched him being sheared like a sheep. He did everything in his power not to cry, after all this was only strike two. After what felt like an eternity, the lights came back up, and clippers turned off. The humiliation wasn’t over as Chuck slapped the back of his head to the delight of the audience. Andrew winced as the hand met his skull, and feeling the skin on skin contact he knew that there was nothing left back there. His ears, forehead, and face were all now fully exposed. A shaved back and side just like Joshua. Andrew looked to his right, almost using Joshua as a mirror; they both looked at each other and exchanged the same sorrowful glance.

"That’s a man right there Andrew- y’know maybe hit the gym with Beckett, gain some muscle and all the girls will be all over you looking like that," Mason said giving him a thumbs up.

"Joshua, to end Round 4 and go into Round 5 in the lead- your category is sports. Question is What surface are Wimbledon Tennis matches played on?"

"Grass," Joshua said with no hesitation.

"Alright let’s not delay- Round 5, category is general, question being what form of blitz chess has the shortest time limit?"

"Bullet, One minute," Joshua smiled, gaining some confidence.

"That is correct, Bullet chess is the shortest time limit of blitz coming in at one minute. Looks like taking your back and sides away didn’t take away any arrogance. Let’s get back to Andrew, Round 5 and you are one strike away from being Andrew Clean…." he paused for laughter. Andrew swallowed at the reminder.

"Category is general- The Hall of Mirrors is the largest room in what famous structure?"

"Palace… of Versailles," Andrew answered biting his lip.

"That is correct, you live another round, now its time to see if Beckett will survive to Round 6. Beckett your category is entertainment. The question," Mason paused, "Will be revealed when we come back from break…"

Beckett laughed as the broadcast faded.

"Welcome back the score is 2 strikes for Beckett and Andrew and 1 for Joshua, Beckett is gonna end Round 5 potentially right now, but we’ll see if he’s gonna be alive for Round 6. Category entertainment, question is in "Frosty the Snowman" what action causes Frosty to come to life."

"Hat! Place a hot on his head!" Beckett blurted out, happy to save what was left of his mop.

"That is correct! A hat just like you might be wearing for the next few months if you get this Round 6 question wrong, Category is science! The question is What is the name for a baby turkey?"

An energy came over the audience, they knew they were close to a first loser. Beckett smiled and threw his head back laughing, "This is it huh?" He said, "Baby turkey? Is it a fawn?"

The buzzer sounded as the audience cheered.

"No it is not!" Mason shook his head, "The correct answer was poult and that is strike 3. Beckett you were our first contestant, first strike, and now first loser. There’s gonna be many questions about you in a few years time. But now it is time for it all to come off, Dave you know what these people want.

The crowd chanted ‘bald bald bald!’ as Dave fired up the balding clippers once again. The spotlight came down as Dave tugged Beckett’s head back by the hair leaving him to look at the ceiling. He placed the clipper right at his forehead and pulled back. Long curly brown hair hit the floor in waves as Dave ran the clipper all around the top of his head. He tilted Beckett’s head back straight, the top was bald but the back still had a stripe. The audience laughed looking at the curly stripe on Beckett’s head. Beckett was all smiles as he felt the warmth of the spotlight directly on his head.

"How do I look man?" Beckett asked Mason, giving another head bang.

"You’re looking really good," Mason couldn’t help but laugh.

Beckett’s head was pushed into his chest as Dave ran the clippers up the back of his head. After a few more swipes, Beckett’s head was nothing but skin. Andrew and Joshua looked over at him with mouths’ wide open.

"I think you’re gonna need a smaller baseball cap eh?" Mason jeered, "Beckett, our first contestant, now our first baldy! What’s the verdict?"

Dave ripped the cape off of Beckett, the fun was over. Beckett immediately bowed his head and brought both his hands up to rub it, "Yooo-" He called out, "This is crazy-" The feeling he felt when he rubbed his head was one like he had never felt. He was so used to hair that he could still almost feel it, but what information his hands relayed to his brain was so foreign to him. Skin… on top of his head? He laughed out as he rubbed his head more vigorously, almost forcing himself to come to terms with it.

Dave held up a mirror for Beckett to look at himself for the first time, "Oh my-" Beckett said, his eyes growing wide at the sight of his bald head. He traced his bald head with his fingertips in stunned silence. Slowly a smirk came onto his face as he nodded his head before brushing it off. He knew that he would have to tan, but he didn’t look bad. His hazel eyes were even more prominent and enchanting without his dark brown hair.

"Look at the audience!" Mason called out, "Baldy Beckett."

The crowd responded by chanting Baldy Beckett as the baseball player rubbed his bald head, starkly pale in contrast to his tanned skin. He slapped it and flexed for the audience.

"Beckett your prize for last place is…." He stalled for dramatic effect, "A free haircut!"

Beckett laughed and shook his head, "A free haircut and months of not having to pay for one," He smiled.

"Thats the spirit!" Mason nodded, "Now please wait for the other two to finish backstage,"

The crowd cheered as Beckett took a final bow. He let a few lucky fans in front row rub his head on the way out.

"It is time for the final two! We have Andrew on two strikes and Joshua on just one. For the final two we abandon the snaking order, meaning Andrew will answer then Joshua then Andrew then Joshua and so forth." Mason explained the rules for the remainder of the game.

"Andrew, your category is science… question, Heliophobia is the fear of what?"

"The sun?" Andrew squeaked out, swallowing. DING

"Joshua, you’re on one strike, you have some room to make a mistake… unless you want to keep those curls that is. Your category is science. Question is squid, octopus, and cuttlefish are all apart of what class?" Mason read the question as the audience started to cheer, sensing a question that would stump Joshua.

"…Aquatic Creatures?" was Joshua’s desperate attempt at saving his curls.

As the buzzer rung out, Mason almost jumped for joy, "The correct answer was…" he looked closely at his cue card, "Cephalopod? I think i said that right anyways! Strike two, Sam you can do whatever you want…"

The spotlight shone on Joshua for the time in a while as Sam put a guard on the clippers… He placed a #2 on and ran it over the top of Joshua’s head. Joshua instinctively leaned his head back as he felt the clippers leap at his forehead. Sam wrapped his free arm around Joshua’s chin, holding his head into place. He used the hand with the clippers to continue buzzing off the top. When he was finished, nothing was left but a transparent blonde pelt.

"Cadet Joshua, you really could join the Air Force huh-" Mason teased as the lights returned to their default setting, "We have an interesting finish to our first episode folks, both Joshua and Andrew are on two strikes, find out who wins the premiere of Hotseat when we come back."

"Welcome back to the premiere of Hotseat," Mason smiled his hollywood smile, "It is two strikes against two strikes. It is Andrew’s turn, next one to get an answer incorrect will be bald."

"Andrew, your category is language… question is what does the abbreviation N/A mean?" Mason said looking deeply at Andrew.

"Not applicable…." Andrew said, his eyes firmly closed. He did not open them until he heard the ding.

"That is correct, Joshua- your category is history, the question being which explorer led the first expedition that sailed around the world?"

"Ferdinand Magellan," Joshua nodded having regained his composure. He licked his lips as the ding sounded.

"Andrew, your category is general. Question is What athletic apparel company took its name from the Greek goddess of victory?

"Ni…Nike!" Andrew swallowed. The ding sounded as he almost collapsed in the barber’s chair.

"It is really getting exciting folks!" Mason turned to hype up the audience, "Andrew two strikes! Joshua two strikes! Both on fire. It is Joshua’s turn… Category is history… The question being What is the name of the first pyramid ever built?"

Joshua inhaled sharply, sitting up in his seat knocking off the hair that was on his lap. Andrew looked hopefully over at him.

"The pyramid of dog- The pyramid of Djoser!" Joshua looked over at Mason, hoping that he was right.

The ding sounded…

The audience clapped as all the attention in the studio turned to Andrew.

"Andrew… it’s up to you to keep going. Your category is entertainment… The question to save what’s left of your locks is Alex Raymond created which comic strip character in 1934?"

Andrew pouted in concentration, tears almost forming in his eyes, "Bat- bat… batman?" He shrugged looking desperately at Mason.

The buzzer sounded…

The audience roared.

"That is incorrect! The answer was Flash Gordon… Chuck! Finish our boy Andrew off, make him look truly like a proud man for us!" Mason exclaimed, the crowd echoing his sentiment.

That was all Chuck needed as he grabbed the balding clippers. The spotlight came back down, as it felt like time had frozen for Andrew.

Chuck tilted Andrew’s head back, forcing him to look up as he slowly turned the clippers on. Andrew saw nothing but the bright singular light shining down on him; the crowd was roaring. He felt a vibration on the top of his forehead, and then he felt his head grow lighter. Chuck ran the clippers over the top of his head, leaving nothing behind. Andrew bit his lip, trying not to cry on television. He wouldn’t- he came this far, he would take it like a man!

He heard the buzzing on top of his head, he could feel the clippers hungry for his black locks, and he felt lighter and lighter as the seconds ticked by. Chuck’s surgical precision for hair cutting was on display as it only took maybe twenty seconds for the top to be sheared off.

The clippers turned off, Andrew was completely bald. Chuck placed them back on the desk and winded up to give Andrew a big slap on the top of the head. Andrew winced in pain as Chuck held up a mirror for him. That was it- Andrew couldn’t stop a tear from falling as he was forced to look at his bald head. The cape came undone, he wasn’t trapped in the chair anymore.

His small face looked so much smaller with the absence of hair. He reached up a hand slowly and rubbed his head… nothing- skin, that’s all that was left. Gone was the silky smooth locks that he would wash and shampoo every other day… would even use shampoo anymore? No- he was bald… he would just use soap to clean his head.

He stared straight at his reflection, a stranger was looking back at him. One with long ears sticking out, ears that he hadn’t seen since he was a little boy. He swallowed hard, but he was proud. He endured it didn’t he- almost an hour of psychological and emotional hell. He did something that he never thought he would do, and that was go bald.

Andrew stood up, looking at the crowd who were mocking him with ‘baldrew’ chants. He was shocked to see Mason Whitmore walking up to him. Mason greeted him by rubbing his bald head and said, "Now you look like a man Andrew- hit the gym and you’re really gonna look good. Trust me, this is good for you."

Andrew tried to smile and muttered a, "thank you…" before Mason went back to address the crowd.

"Let’s hear it for your winner, Joshua!"

Sam took the cape off of Joshua and held the mirror up for him to see the carnage. Joshua’s jaw dropped as he saw his blonde high and tight. He looked just like a military man… His hand reached up as he stood up… he was shocked by the jarring contrast, he couldn’t keep his hand away from where buzzed clippings met bald skin… He always wanted to be a pilot and well Mason was right, Joshua saw hot he fit in with the Air Force men now… He could walk onto a base and right into the hanger and nobody would take notice or think to call him out as not belonging.

"Let’s bring Beckett back out here come on!"

The crowd cheered as baldy Beckett re-entered the stage. Beckett rubbed his head one more time before joining Mason, Andrew, and Joshua.

"Come on let’s finish this premiere off in style!" Cheered Mason as he directed the guys into the closing pose.

Joshua stood in the middle with his left hand on top of Andrew’s bald head and his right hand on top of Beckett’s bald head. To the side stood Mason.

"Thank you all folks for joining us for the premiere of Hotseat! Congratulations to our winner Joshua, who will be going home with $10,000. Join us next week!" 

The crowd cheered as the broadcast ended.



(I hope yall enjoyed~ I had ideas of maybe doing more episodes or doing like spinoffs. Like different themed episodes so it doesn't get so repetitive. Lemme know if yall wanna see more of Hotseat!)

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