Habit

It wasn’t long before I discovered that the pink haired girl had kept her word. She had actually advised some of her friends to come to me for a haircut. I could well imagine what they responded to her by seeing what I had done to her. ‘So she’ll shave me off like she did with you?’ Evidently they hadn’t noticed how her face now stood out much more than before.

 

But someone decided to trust her and they really came. Some were the same type as the bobbed one, shy and all, others were simply curious to try a new experience. I was happy to oblige.

 

4:00 pm. Time to get out of school. Although my salon is in a fairly deserted area, it is located on the road that connects the small suburban village with the big city. Many of the students who went to school in the city lived in the village and so it was natural that they would pass by that street and notice my shop. There are those who liked to do it on foot and there are those who liked to do it by car or bus. That day, to return home, some of them decided to walk.

 

Three girls, very pretty, stopped in front of the shop door. They were reading my promotion.

 

“This is the place she recommended.”

 

“Look. There’s even a special discount!”

 

“What do you think? Shall we try to go in?”

 

The three looked at their hair for a while. They alternated their gaze between their hair and the writing on the sign. Then, they decided.

 

“Why not? After all, it’s just hair! It would do us good to change our look for once.”

 

“Maybe, but I’m not so sure.”

 

“Come on, come on! What is there to lose anyway?”

 

“I enter.”

 

“Me too!”

 

“Wait! Don’t leave me here alone!”

 

And so they entered. At that time I still had a couple of clients ahead of them.

 

“Hi girls!”

 

“Greetings.”

 

“You can sit down there, meanwhile I’ll finish off these two ladies.”

 

So they headed towards the waiting chairs. They occupied just all three available seats.

 

“But are you really sure about what you want to do?”

 

“Sure! It’ll be nice to try something new. Besides, I’ve been wanting to cut them for a while now and what better way to do it than this?”

 

“Yeah, you’re right. It will be a new experience!”

 

“But I’m not sure I want to do that.”

 

In no time, the two ladies were already well and truly done.

 

“Well ladies! Who’s first?”

 

The two girls looked at each other with a mischievous look and decided to send the third one, the undecided one.

 

“She’s coming!”

 

They both said in unison pointing to the chosen one.

 

“But I…”

 

“Ah, very good then! Come on, come and sit down.”

 

She walked uncertainly towards me and the mirror.

 

I outlined the cape in front of her eyes and placed it slowly on her body.

 

“What were you planning on doing today?”

 

She didn’t answer. The other two sitting on the waiting chairs took care of it.

 

“We came here for the promotion!”

 

If you look closely, all three were wearing the same uniform of the pink and the bobbed girls.

 

“So she sent you…”

 

“That’s right, exactely!”

 

“Good. I’m happy to see some girls finally coming of their own free will to get shaved!”

 

As I said this, I picked up my beloved electric razor.

 

“But, really…I’m…not really sure I want to do that.”

 

“And why is that?”

 

“I’ve never done this before so I’m very scared.”

 

“Don’t worry. I’ll take the fear away from you.”

 

Quickly and inscrutably, I shaved off a strip of hair on the top of her head.

 

“See? Now there’s nothing to worry about anymore. From now on it can only get better! It’s always the beginning that’s a little scary but then everything goes like clockwork. You’ll see that you’ll look fine! Everyone looks with this cut!”

 

The girl was stunned, petrified by that gesture.

 

“Sorry for the brutality, but it was necessary.”

 

After those words I continued with my work.

 

I continued the streak I had done before and proceeded to go straight and fast. I didn’t want to make the process more difficult for the girl than it already was. I finished the first part pretty quickly. The other razor was already in my hand and the shaving cream was on her head. I did it as quickly as I could but without neglecting the precision that had to accompany that execution. I also took care to make her feel as much as possible the pleasant sensation of the blade on her head. It seemed to work well enough but the fear was still present on her face.

 

“And one is done. Look how good you are now! No more hair, no more heat, no more discomfort. Now it will seem strange and unusual, but you will see that in less than half an hour you will have already gotten used to it. Come on, What are you waiting for? Feel free to touch it, don’t be afraid!”

 

The girl did as I told her. Her left hand came out of the cape and ran all over her forehead and the back of her neck.

 

“It…it can’t be true! I just shaved my hair!”

 

“How does it look?”

 

“It’s so smooth! I can feel the air surrounding me completely! It’s amazing!”

 

“True, isn’t it? It feels amazing.”

 

“Yes.”

 

She returned to her seat next to the others with their gaze fixed on her head.

 

“Whose turn is it?”

 

“I come.”

 

Another of the girls was already sitting in the chair.

 

“And what about you?”

 

“I want a full shave too.”

 

“On my way then.”

 

The electric razor found itself in my hand once more and again I passed it all over the girl’s head. I could tell from the little sighs coming out of her mouth that she liked it. From the electric razor to the shaving foam, up to the girl’s head, and then finishing with the straight razor. My hands seemed to move on their own. With just a few small passes, the work was finished quickly.

 

The third was not long in coming. She sat down, cape, electric razor, shaved head, shaving foam, razor, small and precise passes and that’s it. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

Three beautiful girls with shaved heads were now in front of me paying for their cut. I was very proud of them.

 

 

Another day, more cuts, more lives changed. It had become a habit.

 

Next and LAST part — Victory