Rattle in the Alley

Harristown smelled like shampoo and wet pavement. A row of barber shops lined Main Street like traps with windows.

Jack shoved her long bangs aside, but they fell right back in her eyes. Her shark-tooth necklace clicked against her red-and-black striped shirt.

Ollie’s hair stuck out like a startled monkey.

“Nope,” he said. “Not today. Not ever.”

Remi, Mike, Jacob, and Carson crowded close, pretending it was just a joke. Jack did the same.

From inside Snip-Snap Salon came the bzzzz of clippers.

“Devil clippers!” Carson yelped.

“If those devils get near my head,” Mike said, “I’m gonna die from the baldness!”

The door swung open.

Tessa stepped out with a spray bottle. Nia followed, holding a corded clipper like it was a microphone.

“Boys,” Tessa called, sweet as lemonade. “Come back. Your hair is doing… something.”

Jack’s stomach flipped.

“RUN!” Ollie shrieked.

All six kids sprinted into the alley behind the shops as the buzzing grew louder

The Puddle Rule

Jack and the boys burst out of the alley and into a laundromat that smelled like soap and warm coins.

“Hide behind the big spinner!” Ollie whispered, shoving his green hoodie over his hair like it could protect him.

A washer door swung open and splashed a shallow puddle across the tile.

“Nice,” Jack muttered, hopping back. Her bangs stuck to her eyes anyway.

The front bell jingled.

Tessa stepped in, ponytail high, spray bottle clicking.

Nia followed, holding the corded clipper down by her knee. “No running in a place with puddles. That’s how you meet the floor.”

Mrs. Kwan, the owner with short hair, pointed at a bright flyer taped to the change machine. “Challenge Day rules. I don’t make them.”

Mike leaned in and read. “If your hair is… ‘monkey mane level,’ you must get trimmed, or you wear a MONKEY MANE sticker at school.”

Jacob gasped. “Not the sticker!”

Ollie’s eyes went shiny.

Nia held up one finger. “Deal. I touch the clipper to your finger first. Two taps means stop. No tricks.”

The clipper buzzed once, like a tiny angry bee.