Aryel
Hello, i got ai help for this part. Thank you for read
As Molly’s question echoed against the cold bathroom tiles, Ashley’s blood ran cold. “What do you say, shall we give you the exact same haircut as your brother?”
Ashley tried to swallow as she stared at John’s bald head, but her throat had gone completely dry. “Mom, don’t be ridiculous,” she said, trying to laugh, unable to hide the tremor in her voice. “I’m a girl. And we only cut John’s hair… you know, for summer comfort.”
“That is exactly what I am talking about,” Molly said, a determined glint in her eyes. “Look how relieved your brother is. It’s your turn, Ashley. Besides, I am truly sick and tired of seeing those long strands of hair all over the house. Now, sit down in that chair.”
Ashley wanted to back away, but her mother had already gripped her by the shoulders and pressed her down onto the bathroom chair John had just vacated. Right at that moment, the doorbell rang. Ashley prayed to God from the bottom of her heart; maybe this was a miracle to save her from this nightmare. Molly grumbled as she headed for the door: “Don’t you dare get out of that chair, Ashley, I’ll be right back.”
The visitor was Chloe, Ashley’s closest friend from school. Chloe walked in carrying cold drinks. “Hi, Mrs. Molly! I thought I’d spend some time with Ashley…” she started, but then she saw the scene in the bathroom. Piles of hair on the floor, a bald John, and Ashley sitting in the chair looking terrified. “Oh my God, what is going on here?” Chloe said, her eyes widening like saucers.
Molly waved the old manual clippers in Chloe’s direction. “We are doing Ashley’s summer cleaning, Chloe. Want to join in? You arrived just in time.”
Ashley looked at her friend with pleading eyes, hoping Chloe would save her from this situation. However, Chloe looked at that waist-length hair that Ashley always tossed around with pride, the hair everyone in class envied. A mischievous, slightly envious urge suddenly woke up inside her. “Actually…” Chloe said, a devilish smile creeping onto her lips. “Ashley always hides behind her hair. I’m really curious to see how short hair would look on her. Mrs. Molly, can I help?”
Ashley felt completely betrayed. “Chloe! No, please!” she screamed, but there was no escape now.
Ignoring her daughter’s protests, Molly took the old, rusty manual hair clippers. The metallic clicking sounds the clippers made as they approached Ashley’s hairline reminded her of a guillotine. “Hold still,” Molly said, placing the clippers right in the middle of Ashley’s forehead, straight on her hair parting.
The mechanical teeth sent a shiver through Ashley’s scalp. Molly squeezed the handles. Snap. The clippers didn’t cut the hair cleanly in one go; they pulled it a bit. Ashley groaned in pain, but the real pain wasn’t physical. As Molly pushed her hand backward, Ashley felt her long, precious masterpiece—the hair she had cherished for years—being ripped away from its roots. The first long lock slid right over her nose and fell into her lap. Ashley couldn’t stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks. Molly had already cleared a wide strip right down the middle, from front to back. Just like with John, a bare, prickly highway had been opened right in the center of her head.
“Wow,” Chloe said, watching in awe and fascination. “That is… truly radical. Mrs. Molly, can I try the sides?”
Chloe excitedly took over the clippers. She grabbed the thick mass of hair above Ashley’s right ear. Ashley squeezed her eyes shut. Every time Chloe squeezed the handles, Ashley felt a lightness on her head, but this lightness didn’t feel like freedom; it felt like being completely stripped naked. Snip… snip… The sound of the manual clippers echoed in the bathroom. Huge masses of hair slithered down from behind her ears and her nape, brushing against her shoulders before hitting the floor.
After brutally clearing Ashley’s left side as well, Chloe handed the clippers back to Molly. Molly bent Ashley’s head forward sharply. The hair at the nape of her neck met the cold teeth of the clippers. As her mother took the final laps around the back of her head, Ashley gently shook her head. The weight that used to hit her shoulders was entirely gone.
“All done,” Molly said, brushing the stray hairs off Ashley’s shoulders. “Take a look, it’s much cleaner than before.”
Ashley slowly raised her head and looked into the mirror. A shockwave went through her entire body. The girl in the mirror wasn’t her. Of the hair that used to reach her waist, nothing was left but a few millimeters of prickly, buzzed dark hair, looking just like a boy’s crew cut. Her hand instinctively went to her head. As she ran her fingers over the short bristles, the stinging, prickly sensation she had felt on John’s head just a moment ago was now inside her own palm. The scratchy sound made every time she stroked her head sent a bizarre shiver through her.
Chloe stepped up from behind and touched Ashley’s bare shoulder. “You know, Ashley… it actually doesn’t look that bad. You look like a total summer girl,” she giggled. John poked his bald head through the bathroom door, smirking, “Well, Ashley, who’s balder now?”
Under the pretext of cleaning up the hair on the floor, Molly quietly slipped out of the bathroom. She moved to the corner of the hallway, pulled out her phone, and quickly dialed Chloe’s mother, Betty. The phone answered on the second ring. Molly lowered her voice and said with a chuckle, “Betty, hi! Listen, Chloe is over at our place. I have something amazing to tell you. We just cut our kids’ hair completely short for the summer. Chloe was right here and she got so excited, she enjoyed the whole ceremony so much! She even took the clippers and cut Ashley’s hair herself. When it was done, she told Ashley, ‘You look like a total summer girl.’ Honestly, Betty, I feel like Chloe secretly wants this haircut too, but she probably just lacked the courage to ask you. What do you think?”
On the other end of the line, Betty paused for a moment, then gave a soft laugh. “You might actually be right, Molly. Chloe complains about how hot her hair gets every single summer, but she could never bring herself to chop it off. I don’t see any harm in it at all. Since she’s so eager, go right ahead and do it! It’ll refresh her hair anyway.”
A triumphant smile spread across Molly’s face. “Wonderful. Leave the rest to me.”
Molly walked back into the bathroom, wearing an angelic, warm smile. She approached Chloe and gently ran her hand through Chloe’s dark, incredibly healthy, and thick-tipped hair that fell just above her waist. The hair was so lush and shiny, it looked like the very definition of perfect health.
“Chloe, sweetheart,” Molly said, putting on her most affectionate tone. “I just spoke with your mother, Betty. She told me how much you’ve been secretly wishing for this haircut, but that you just couldn’t bring yourself to ask her.”
Chloe’s eyes widened in sheer shock. “What? No, Mrs. Molly, I was just… for Ashley…”
“Oh, honey, there’s no need to hide it from your mother anymore,” Molly interrupted, gently but firmly gripping Chloe’s shoulders and guiding her toward the very chair Ashley had just vacated. “Betty was so happy for you! She said, ‘Since my daughter wants it so much, let Molly give her the same refreshment.’ Come on, sit right down. But Chloe, your hair is so thick and dense, if these manual clippers go straight in, they’ll get jammed. We need to thin it out first.”
Molly picked up a large pair of dressmaker shears and winked at Ashley, who was now smirking maliciously. “Ashley, want to help your friend? You earn the right to make the first strike.”
Ashley’s eyes lit up. Revenge time had arrived. Looking at her own hair on the floor, all the pain she had felt suddenly turned into massive excitement. While Chloe sat shivering in the chair, Ashley gripped the large shears. She grabbed a huge chunk of Chloe’s thick, dark, cascading hair. CRUNCH! The brutal sound of the shears echoed in the bathroom. Without an ounce of mercy, Ashley began hacking away at Chloe’s beautiful hair, chopping it off randomly right at shoulder length. Massive, healthy chunks of hair dropped into Chloe’s lap and over her shoulders while Chloe silently wept.
“Now for the real fun,” Ashley said, putting down the shears and picking up the old manual hair clippers. She placed the clippers right in the middle of Chloe’s forehead, straight on her hair parting. She locked eyes with Chloe’s terrified face in the mirror. Ashley gripped the handles tightly and, with a series of snap-snap-snap sounds, she plowed the clippers straight down the middle of Chloe’s head all the way to the crown. As the dark, thick hair fell away to either side, a long, bare, stark white highway opened up right down the center of Chloe’s head. Ashley ran her fingers over the newly opened path; that familiar, prickly raspy sound was now on Chloe’s head.
“The rest is yours, Mom,” Ashley said with a deep sense of satisfaction, handing the clippers to her mother.
Molly took over the clippers and began the detailed work. She started at Chloe’s right temple; with every squeeze of the handles, thick strands of hair were cut right from the roots, drifting down to the bathroom floor. Molly didn’t rush; she cleared the areas behind the ears and the sideburns millimeter by millimeter. With every falling lock, Chloe felt the heavy, luxurious warmth of her hair being replaced by an ice-cold nakedness. When Molly placed the clippers at the nape of Chloe’s neck, every upward stroke sent shivers through Chloe’s entire body. Within a few minutes, nothing was left of Chloe’s lush, thick hair.
Her head completely buzzed, Chloe slowly opened her eyes and looked into the mirror. Only a few millimeters of stiff, bristly, dark hair remained on her head. Standing side by side in the mirror, Ashley and Chloe stared at each other, sporting identical, military-harsh crew cuts.
John poked his head through the bathroom door, rubbing his own bald head as he laughed out loud: “Wow! Girls, this summer is definitely going to be wild!”
