Haircuts Revisited

Friends  
By Tammy

Foreword: This story was fun to write because it goes back to playing a game of Truth or Dare when you were young…It explores peer pressure amongst 2 best friends.

My best friend Debbie and I did everything together when we grew up. We were always together, especially in the summer. When we were fifteen, that summer was particularly hot. We would spend a lot of time swimming in the lake near where we lived. I remember one day we were lying on the beach, Debbie mentioned she wanted to cut her hair short for the summer.

“How short?” I asked her.

“Pretty short, I’m not sure though. What do you think?” she responded.

Debbie’s hair wasn’t that long anyway, it was just past a chin length bob with some messy layers. It was grown out a bit from her previous haircut. She usually wore her hair in mid lengths but never too short. I found myself wanting to see her with short hair actually. My dad would always take my brother to the barbershop for his haircuts and occasionally I got to go and watch. I always loved watching all the action in there. I had a devious thought and I wanted to see her get her haircut in the barbershop. So I started in….

“Where were you thinking about getting it cut?” I asked.

“I haven’t thought about that yet.” She said.

There was really only two places in our town to get a haircut and that was either Rose’s Beauty Salon or Jack’s Barbershop. They were both very old and traditional shops. Unless your where an old lady, you never wanted to go to Rose’s, she had no modern fashion sense whatsoever, and Jack was very scissor happy, you would always end up with shorter hair than anticipated. Therefore most of the girls in our town went to the city to get their haircuts, usually at a mall or something.

“If you want it cut short, why don’t you go to Jack’s?” I asked

“The barbershop! No way,” she said in surprise

“Why not,” I told her.

“He would butcher me,” She said.

“No he wouldn’t, he does my brother’s hair all of the time. He’s really good, especially with short haircuts,” I told her knowingly

“I don’t know. I wouldn’t feel comfortable in a barbershop,” She said.

“Come on. It would be ok, besides I could come with you for support,” I told her.

“I don’t know,” she said.

“We could go this afternoon,” I told her, “I’m sure it would be quiet today. It’s only Tuesday. And besides its either Jack’s or Rose’s,” I said.

I knew Debbie wouldn’t get the opportunity to go to the city for a haircut. Her family was poor so she rarely ever had a chance to even go to the city, There was no way she could get a haircut in the city. I think her mom usually cuts her hair or sometimes she would send her to Rose’s for a haircut. I don’t recall her ever having a good haircut. I could understand why she was so frustrated with her hair, it did look a mess and I really wanted to see the Barber chop it off.

“How do you think I should cut it?” she asked.

I examined her hair and face for a moment. She has natural medium blond hair with natural highlights from the sun. Her current haircut didn’t suit her at all. She has a pretty face and would certainly suit a short haircut. I would love to see it cut short like my brother’s.

“I think you should get a brush-cut.” I told her. “That would look great on you.”

Debbie just laughed and said, “Why don’t you get a brush-cut.”

My hair was way too long to go chop it off in some barbershop. I loved my hair. It was dark brown and cut in a long blunt cut that reached all the was to my braw strap.

“I’m not the one wanting to chop my hair off” I told her.

“Well I never said I wanted my hair chopped off either, I just want something shorter,” she said in frustration

“And I think you should cut it short. Seriously I think it would look awesome on you. Short hair totally suits a girl as long as they have the face for it and you really do have the face for it. Besides you don’t want Rose to cut it, she’ll make you look stupid like some granny or something,” I told her

Debbie was running her fingers through her hair and I could tell she was thinking about it.

“My hair feels messy anyway so why don’t we go home and shower first and I’ll think about it,” she said.

We went back to my house and showered. Afterwards we were in front of the bathroom mirror combing out each other’s hair.

“Imagine how easy it would be for you if you had your hair cut short” I told her as I brushed her hair.

I stood behind her and brushed her hair straight back so she could see her face in the mirror. “See you would look really sexy with a short haircut. You would look like one of those hot models in the magazines.”

I could tell she was still thinking about it

“OK, I’ll cut my hair short as long as you cut your hair too,” she told me

I got excited for a second and asked, “Cut it how?”

“A shorter cut I guess, maybe a bob or something,” she said.

I turned my attention to my reflection in the mirror. I never had my haircut that short before. And I wasn’t comfortable getting it cut in town either.

“Or you could get a short boy cut at the barbershop with me.” Debbie said.

I could feel butterflies in my stomach thinking about that. I held my hair up to show my face in the mirror and wondered how I would look with it short. I had a lot of hair and it would take years to grow back.

“I’ll get a brush-cut if you get a boy-cut.” She said. “Otherwise I’m not cutting my hair.”

I was intrigued, I stared at my reflection for a moment and looked at her and thought about it. It would be a big step for both of us. I liked the barbershop and I used to wonder what it would be like to get my haircut in there when I would watch my brother get his haircut.

“It’s a deal,” I said.

So off we went to town. It was a short walk to the main strip. Jack’s barbershop was just on the north end of the strip. The town was small with a few shops and restaurants. As we were walking through the strip I could feel my butterflies get strong. I wasn’t sure I wanted to go through with it anymore. I was really starting to feel scared. As we were approaching the shop I stopped.

“I’m not sure I want to do this anymore,” I said

“You can’t back out now, we made a deal,” she told me.

“I know I did but I don’t think I can go through with it,” I said nervously.

“No way, you’re not backing out now, where only 20 feet away from the shop,” she said.

I could tell she really wanted to see me get shorned as badly as I wanted to see her get shorned. The only problem was I had a lot more to lose then she did.

“Come on.” She said grabbing me by the arm and pulling me towards the shop.

Debbie grabbed the door and opened it for me. I felt an overwhelming sensation as I went through the door. Even though I’ve been in that shop many times before I had never felt like this. It was like a complete numbness throughout my body.

“Good afternoon Girls,” Charlie said as we entered.

“Hello,” Debbie responded.

“How can I help you?” he said.

“We’re here to get our haircuts,” She told him.

“OK.” He said as he spun the barber’s chair around to face us. “Who’s first.”

We looked at each other and I must have looked like I’d seen a ghost because I was petrified.

“OK, I’ll go first,” she told me and sat down in the Chair.

I took a seat in a waiting chair to watch.

Charlie took a pinstriped cape and swung it in the air over Debbie and pinned it at her neck. He picked up a comb and brushed her hair out.

“Did you want me to clean this up?” he asked Debbie.

“I want it cut short, like a brush-cut.” She told him.

“That’s pretty short, are you sure you want that.”

“Yes, it’s too hot this summer to bother with long hair.” She said.

“OK.” He responded.

He picked up a pair of scissors and came around to Debbie’s left side. He sectioned off her hair above her left ear with his comb and started cutting. Snip snip snip – hair was flying off above her ear. He was cutting with his scissors over comb cutting very fast reducing her hair to about an inch on her left side. He then tilted her head forward and started cutting away behind her left ear. Snip snip snip – her hair was starting to be reduced to an inch across the back. He was very fast with his work as he moved around to her right side. He tilted her head the other way and snipped all her hair away on the right side as well.

He started combing the top forward into her face, as there was still a lot of length left on top. He slid his comb under her bangs and snipped the hair off of her forehead and worked scissors over comb over the top of her head reducing it to and inch on top as well. Her hair was piled up all over her lap and around the chair as she sat there staring at her reflection with a look of shock on her face.

Jack put down his scissors and comb and grabbed a giant pair of clippers off from off their hook. He changed an attachment and turned them on. The humming sound filled the shop and sent shivers down my spine. He tilted her head forward and placed them on the nape of her neck and pushed them up towards her crown. They left about a ¼” at the bottom and he tapered her hair as he went up. When he finished the back. He did the same on the right side and then the left side. He put the clippers back on their hook and grabbed his comb and spray bottle. He wet the top of her hair a little and grabbed his scissors. He cut away at the top cutting it scissor over comb reducing closer to ½” on top and tapering it with the sides.

When he finished the haircut he picked up a cleaning brush and cleaned the hairs from her face and neck. She was just sitting there staring at her reflection. She looked so different than from a moment ago. He grabbed a mirror and showed her the back of her hair. She reached her arm out from under the cape and felt the back as she stared at it through the reflection and started to smile.

“Wow.” was all she could say smiling at him. “Thank-you.”

He nodded at her while unfastening the cape and hung the cape on a hook

She sat there for a few moments staring at her reflection in the mirror while feeling her haircut with her hand. “It feels so amazing,” she said as she got up.

She walked over and sat down beside me. I felt her hair as well and it did feel amazing, it looked amazing on her too. “I told you that you would look great.” I said to her.

“Next.” Jack called out to me with his chair spun around facing me.

I just completely froze. I looked to Debbie for help, as I was completely petrified.

She looked at me and said, “We made a deal remember.”

“I know but I don’t think I can go through with this,” I told her.

She sighed for a moment. “So then don’t cut it too short, but do something at least.” She said while giving me a look of disbelief. “You promised,” she told me.

“OK,” I said. I took a deep breath and got up and sat in that chair. Jack swung me around to face the mirror. He grabbed a section of hair from my right side and examined the length.

“So how would you like it cut then.” He asked.

I looked at him through the mirror with a puzzled look and shrugged my shoulders.

“I don’t know,” I told him.

He pulled my hair back over my shoulders while examining my face through the mirror. I just sat there at his mercy not knowing what was going to happen. I was too scared and numb and my mind was completely blank.

“How about I just cut it to here then,” he said while running his finger along my jaw line.

“I’ll cut it to the bottom of your ears and across the back and I’ll cut some bangs for you,” he said. “That should help you keep cool for the summer.”

I gave a very weak nod.

He picked up the cape and draped it around me. He tilted my head forward and pulled my hair out from under the cape and let it fall down my right shoulder. He fastened the cape at the back and pulled my hair back over the back of the chair again.

He picked up his scissors and comb and he stood around my right side. He started to section off my bangs at the top and combed them forward. My bangs were covering my face completely and reached down to my chest. I couldn’t see through my hair so I just closed my eyes. I felt the steel blades of the scissors slide across my forehead and I heard them close. Snip snip snip snip. I felt them cut as they worked their way across my forehead. When they stopped I opened my eyes and my bangs were cut well above my eyebrows. Almost 2 feet of hair was now sitting in my lap in front of me.

He then sectioned off the hair from my right side so it was laying down my right shoulder. He slid his scissors into my hair at my jaw line. Snip snip snip snip. He cut off all the hair on my right side and it slid onto the cape in front of me. He went around to my left side and sectioned off that part as well. Snip snip snip, the hair on my left side fell onto my lap as well. He tilted my head forward and I could feel the blades slide across my neck. Snip snip snip. My hair in the back fell to the floor behind my. I lifted my head up and looked at my reflection. The bob was cut so short that I looked like a twelve-year-old girl instead of fifteen. I turned my head from side to side to examine it and it really didn’t suit me at all. He was watching me look at my reflection.

“Is it OK,” he asked.

I thought about it for a second and I really didn’t like it.

“Can you do something a bit shorter?” I asked.

“Sure.” He replied.

He slid his comb under my hair on the left side and snipped off the bob so my hair just covered the top of my ear a little bit. He worked his way around the back and snipped away at the hair at my back. He worked his way to my right reducing it to the same length as on my left. He picked up his clippers and switched them on. The humming sound filled the shop again and sent shivers straight through me. He tilted my head forward and ran them up my nape. He worked them all the way across the back of my head and when he finished he put them back on the hook again. He picked up his spray bottle and wet my hair. He got his comb and scissors and started to cut my hair around my right ear. He sectioned off the sides and cut it to a shorter length. He went around to my left and did the same. He sectioned off the top and cut it to a couple of inches long. And he finished by tapering up the back with my crown.

“How’s that.” He asked.

I examined it and just nodded in satisfaction. It was really short however. I couldn’t believe looking at my reflection that it was actually me, and that I actually went through with this. I didn’t hate it though but it was very different. He brushed off my face and neck and removed the cape. He got his mirror and showed me the back. It was really short back there. I felt it and it did feel good. I smiled at him and he said thank-you. I went back to see Debbie.

She got up and smiled and said, “I love it.”

“Really,” I answered.

“Definitely,” she said.

I liked it too.

Thanks for reading,

Tammy