Nothing, absolutely nothing seemed to satisfy his dad. Bryan was tired of hearing about everything that was wrong with him.
Nothing he did was right, he was lazy, he wouldn't help around the house, his room was a mess, he looked like a bum, his clothes were ragged and torn, it looked like he just picked them up off the floor and put them on, worn, wrinkled and probably not washed, he could at least comb that mop of straggly hair with that dirty greasy ball cap holding it down.
Bryan's dad may have been right. Bryan was 16 and still in love with skateboarding and going to the beach. His buddy's didn't care how he looked, they even thought it was sort of cool to dress in such a sloppy way. What consternated Bryan's parents was that in most ways he was a very smart kid. His school work was always excellent and he made the honor roll every semester. He knew how to use a computer, had a cell phone, but was seldom on either. He loved being out of doors. They lived near the beach, a couple of miles away. He and his buddy's would skateboard down and then surf. He was not into organized sports in any way. He wasn't interested in football or baseball. From his skateboarding and surfing, Bryan was in great physical shape, not bulging with muscles or 6 pac abs, but lithe and well tanned.
Bryan didn't know it when he started the 10th grade, but his life was about to make a dramatic face about. Her name was Tiffany. She was the antithesis of Bryan. Gorgeous would aptly describe her figure. And she dressed in style, whether wearing jeans and a shirt or a skirt and blouse. Her blond hair around her pretty face with it's pert nose was short and curly. As a new student at the school, she hadn't been there for the cheerleader tryouts but undoubtedly she would have made the squad. She loved sports and attended every game. She was also in Bryan's home room and her desk was one seat up in the next row. During the first two weeks he did everything buy stand on his head to get her attention, once even being called down by the teacher. It wasn't long before he realized that the boys she seemed to like were the ones that seemed to care about their appearance, played some sport, and weren't trying to get her to trip over them. He didn't care about football, but when he found out she went to every game, he started going. Every head turned when he joined the pep club.
His buddy's began to worry that he might be sick when he came to school dressed in clean jeans and a school tee shirt, one with the bobcat head on the left side of the front and "BOBCATS" across the back. He had one in each of the school colors as well as a couple that had collars like a polo shirt. When he had asked his mom and dad for the new clothes, they had almost gone overboard, they were so delighted. They even managed to have him get a few pair of dress pants and some sport shirts. A highschool jacket, sure. They were more surprised, as had been the coach, when he tried out for the soccer team. (I'm sure it had nothing to do with Tiffany being on the girls soccer team, surely not!)
Bryan asked his dad for $20.00. "What for?" "Let me surprise you," he said. At 9:00 am on Saturday morning Bryan took off on his skateboard. It was still warm, so he could be heading towards the beach. Well, he was going in that direction and he had shorts on and an old tee shirt. And, he did have his surf board with him. Bryan stopped on the main street that ran parallel to the beach, about two blocks away. Down on the right he leaned his surfboard against the building wall and put his skateboard behind it. A little bell rang as he opened the door and went in. It looked like he was the first one there this morning.
There was the dumb question: "What can I do for you today young man?" And the equally dumb answer: "I want to get a haircut." The barber was a young guy, introduced himself as Phil. "Just have a seat up here" he said, removing the blue striped cape from the big black leather chair. Bryan had had a haircut before, several years to be sure. The barbershop smells reminded him of the last time he had gone with his dad. Clipper oil, hair tonic and in spite of the years since smoking had been banned in places of business, there was just the slight odor of cigarettes.
The first thing Phil did was comb his hair out. He was sorry about pulling it, but it was such a tangle. "When's the last time you had a haircut?" Phil asked. "About mothers day, my dad made me get it trimmed up a little, we were going out for dinner." Phil thought it looked it, and he probably hadn't used a comb on it much since then either. "Maybe we should wash it first." "That's ok" Bryan said. "I only have $20.00" "This isn't a beauty or a styling salon" Phil laughed. "It's a barbershop. And while I don't often wash too many young mens hair, yours needs a good shampoo and a little conditioner. I'll tell you what. I'll do the whole thing for the 20 bucks, if you'll let me cut it the way I want, as well as do the shampoo and conditioner." Bryan had heard his mom say that she paid more than $65 when she had her hair done, washed, cut and dried. "I suppose. OK. How long will it take. I'm going to meet my buddies down at the beach this morning for a little surfing before the water get's too cold and we can't go without wet suits." Phil said he had seen the surf board and would like to go himself. "You surf?" "Sure. I grew up a little further south down the beach. It's one of the reasons I settled here." Phil then proceeded with what was going to be a real transformation for Bryan.
First he put the chair back so that Bryan's head was over the basin. He wet it with a spray of warm water. Shampoo was massaged thoroughly through the hair and rinsed out. Then a good conditioner. A final rinse and Bryan's hair was towel dried. Bryan was set upright. Once more Phil combed the damp hair out. The hair was held up as a paper strip was put around his neck, then the cape swirled out and over him and the neck snapped closely over the paper strip. "You just relax. I'm going to cut a bit of this off with the scissors before we get down to the real business." Phil combed out a good portion of hair, slid the scissors behind the comb, and `schink', the blades closed and the hair fell onto the cape shoulder and into his lap. Bryan stared when he saw that it was about 8 inches of hair, damp and slightly curling, laying where he could see it. Comb, `schink', another hank of hair fell, this time to the floor. Phil went all the way around his head. Bryan could already feel the air on his neck. Then Phil took a dry towel and went over his head again, getting it almost completely dry.
"Are you ready
?" Phil asked. Bryan just nodded his head. He was almost afraid of what was about to happen. But, it was just a little late and he had told the barber he could cut it anyway he wanted. He jumped when the clippers were snapped on and there was the audible `pop' and then the buzzing sound as the sharp teeth passed over each other. Phil started on the back of his neck with the blades as far down as he could get them. Phil had put on the #1 guard which would leave the hair 1/8th of an inch long. All the way up the back, almost to the crown. Then again and again. He moved around to the left side, coming closer and closer to the front. Then it was at the front. The clippers were put below his sideburns and pushed up. A clump of hair landed in his lap with a plop. It got the response Phil had thought: Bryan looked in his lap and saw the hunk of hair. Then he picked his head up and held it still while the barber went around his ears and finished off the side. Then it was the right side. A clump of sideburn landed in his lap. This time he didn't look down. He could feel how his head was getting pretty naked. While Phil was still standing where Bryan could see, he removed the guard from the clippers and set it on the counter behind him. He took out a black comb and holding the hair up from the top, began to cut it short. Towards the back, Bryan could feel the comb resting on his skull. A thinner black comb came out of Phil's pocket and he tapered the sides into the top. Then he began on the top again, that thin comb felt like it was touching his skin all the way, from back to the front. Bryan knew that when he would look in the mirror, his hair was going to be short, really short. Phil shut off the clippers and set them aside. Using a long wispy white bristled brush he went over Bryan's head and neck, then brushing the cut hair away from the shoulders of the cape, into his lap or onto the floor.
Bryan thought he was finished. But Phil took out another, smaller silver set of clippers. With these that hummed to life with a quiet whirring sound, he went over the sideburns, then around the ear, and finally cleaning up the back of the neck. Once more he was brushed off. The cape was unbuttoned and the paper tape was removed. `Now', Bryan thought. Just a little more, said Phil. A small towel was put around his neck and tucked into his shirt. The hot lather machine came to life and Bryan soon felt the warm lather being put around his ears and along the neck. He waited as it sat there and Phil used the leather strap to make sure there was a keen edge to the straight razor. Then the neck and hairline was cleaned up. A warm damp towel was used to clean off the excess lather. Phil got out a small white jar and unscrewed the lid. He dug out a finger of pink crew wax and rubbed it between his palms. Next he massaged it into the top of Bryan's hair, pushing it back and making it stand up. Out came that thin comb and the barber scissors. Bryan didn't think there could be much left to cut. Phil was making sure that the top was level and flat. When that was finished he got out a small hand brush and brushed it all up. The towel was removed, then the cape came out of his lap.
"Want to see the result?" Phil asked. He turned Bryan around. "You gave me a flat top! It looks kind of cool. No one will recognize me any more." "Well, what do you think? Is it worth the $20?" "Oh, Yes sir! My dad is gonna flip out. Too bad the surf will wash it out and make it lay down before he sees it." Phil started to hand him the jar of wax, then changed his mind. "Tell you what. I close at 3:00 this afternoon. You come back before then and I'll fix it back and give you this jar so that you can make it stand up yourself." He did hand him a tube of sun screen. "Make sure you use this today or you are going to have a very burnt head. About once an hour, you get out and put some more on. OK?" "Thank you." said Bryan. I'll surely be back. We usually come in by 1:00. And today I'll need to get home so my dad can see this before he goes to work."
Not only was Bryan's new haircut a hit with his dad, but it got Tiffany's attention too. I don't know how that match will turn out. But Bryan will never be the same again. Some of his friends are disgusted and some went so far as to get a crewcut themselves. He is still not turning into a geek, he loves to skateboard and surf, but soccer has become his game. He stops by and see's Phil for a haircut every two weeks to keep his flat top in shape. They have even gone surfing together a time or two. His buddy's think it's a hoot to see an `old' man out surfing with them. Bryan is trying to teach Tiffany to surf, she came from the mountains and says it's a bit like snow boarding, but liquid. She isn't bad on a skateboard either.
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