Emily Dixon was ecstatic for prom, it was only a month away and the cutest and kindest heartthrob Dean Whitmore had asked her to the big event. Everything was perfect and she couldn’t wait.
After about a week since Dean had made his proposal, Emily was shocked to see him at school. All his beach curls were buzzed off completely. In fact, boys in the multitude at school had their heads buzzed she noticed. It was all bizarre and she wanted answers.
On a Tuesday, she plucked up the courage to pull her man aside and ask him what gives. At first, he smiled and joked,”Thought you would like me more with short hair, boo”. Seeing her annoyance at his answer, he breathed,”It’s a new rule, I guess. Coach told me I had to get a buzz cut to go to prom. The whole thing is weird if you ask me”
Satisfied, Emily kissed her man and sifted her fingers through his short stubble,”And I do think you look look hot with short hair”,she lulled. She smiled and blushed as she walked back to class.
The class she had was Algebra and she did her work beautifully. When she was done, the girl excused herself to go to the bathroom. Washing her hands after she finished her business, she saw a girl walk out of a stall. It was a girl she knew very well but something was new.
The brunette curls that she flaunted around the boys were gone. Joanne Simmons had a completely buzzed head! Emily was surprised to the max, she looked like a boy.
”Oh, hey Emily”,Joanne waved to the blonde girl at the sink,”How’s it going!”
Emily was a bit too stunned to speak but she managed to blurt out,”Good”
”How do you like it?”Joanne asked.
”Hmm”
”How do you like my new haircut?”Joanne smiled, rubbing the dark brown bristles that covered her head.
”It looks good”,Emily replied.
”I know, right. You are going to prom, ain’t ya? Can’t wait to see you and all the other girls. In your sparkling dresses and hair like mine”
”Wait, hold up back up”,Emily cut her off,”I am going to prom but I’m sure as hell ain’t going to shave my effing head for it”
”I don’t think you have a choice”,Joanne went on,”I heard it’s a new rule in school now”
”The rule was only applied to boys”,Emily explained.
”Well, Miss Dolly told my English class that the rule applied to everyone going to prom”
”Nah, nah”,Emily said jaded,”You’re wrong”
Taking her leave, Emily tried not to dwell on her girlfriend’s words. ‘Joanne was wrong and she was right’, Emily told herself in her mind. When she got back to class, she had completely forgotten what Joanne said.
Released for lunch, Dean and Emily walked downtown to the store to grab lunch. They were standing at a crosswalk when Emily spotted two girls, Alexa and Kiersten, walking towards a small building. It was a discrete building that had a foldable sign out front. Emily was… intrigued as the girls got closer to building and entered it. She and her man crossed the walk and began walking towards and passed that same building. As they went by, in that two seconds, Emily spotted Kristen getting into the chair as the barberette was ready with a black, vinyl cape. To tell the truth, Emily was excited for the brief period.
”What got you smiling like that?”Dean gave a smile in return as he asked the question.
”You know”,she teased him.
He gave a chuckle as they went inside the supermarket. They both were liberal with their money and spent about $50 bucks on their lunch.
Walking back, they passed the barbershop building. She couldn’t help herself and Emily glanced inside for the two seconds. Alexa was in the chair and Kristen stood by her as the barber did her work. Kristen had barely an inch of hair on her head and it seemed like Alexa was opting for the same haircut. Again, Emily blushed as she and her man continued their way back to school.
‘I guess the rumors are true’,Emily said in her head. But then the idea of buzzing her own head came crept into her mind and she was not opting for a buzzed hairstyle. I’ll talk to Miss Grover’,she formed a plan,’She can get me exempt from the rule’
“I’m sorry but rules are rules”,Miss Grover said flat out,”Hey, I’m just the messenger”
”And enforcer”,retorted Emily.
”Yeah, but still”
”But-“started Emily.
”Nope”
”You can-“
”No way”
”Come on”
”Not happening, Miss Childs”,Miss Grover shut down the borage,”Look, you can either follow the rules or you won’t be allowed into the event”
Emily was frustrated and left the room in a huff. Miss Grover shut the door on her way out. ‘This is so unfair’,Emily fumed inside her mind that made her get a headache. She thought it might as well be the end of the world. Emily wanted to find to go to prom and have all her hair intact.
She looked through the school’s guidelines but all of them had been updated and finalized. Worse still, more and more ladies at the high school had gotten the cut and I guess they were all waiting for Emily to get hers. The girl had to face reality but she wanted to postpone the inevitable indefinitely.
One day, as Dean was starting up the car to drive his love home, Emily said,”I have to do it”
”Do it if you want to”,Dean replied,”It’s cool if you don’t want to go to prom. We can watch a movie at my house instead”
Emily chuckled,”Nah, thanks anyway”
”Your choice”
Dean was a good man and drove Emily to the barbershop they had seen earlier. He and her walked hand in hand to the building. As they approached, a girl came out, the two knew the girl but she didn’t go to their school. She had gotten the cut that Emily dreaded and told them she didn’t mind losing her hair if it meant she could go to the prom with Ty (her boyfriend).
”It’s actually quite nice and my head is so cool”,she rubbed her buzzed head,”You’ll love it”
She let the two go and walked away as the teenage duo entered the shop. It was small and quaint, the person that received them was a gracious, young lady by the name of Lily. She wore a white barber’s shirt and a skirt that fell passed her knees in blue. Her ginger hair was cut short and neatly done like everyday she had a date.
She smiled, surmising the style Emily needed,”You going for something short today?”
”Y-yes, ma’am”,Emily stuttered a little, making it clear she was nervous.
Continuing to smile, Lily patted the chair. Emily’s feet stayed put, she only moved when Dean said he would be right beside her. Taking a seat in the chair, Emily’s felt her blonde tresses being lightly tugged on and pinned to the top of her head. The chair was then swiveled to face the mirror. As this occurred, Emily looked down; the long hair of Lily’s previous customer laid still on the floor. It was a straight massacre and was about to be added on to.
Lily flipped a powder blue cape over Emily’s shoulders and when it was secured, she let the girl’s hair down. She combed through it and took the clippers off its hook. With no guard, she turned them on. Emily didn’t like that it had no guard attached to it, she didn’t want to go bald! But when Lily asked if she was ready, Emily took a deep breath and said,”I am”
To her surprise and relief, Lily only used the clippers to bob her hair first. Emily sported a chic, little bob when the clippers died for the first time. The girl loved her bob but she knew it wouldn’t be the hairdo she was leaving with. Lily attached a red guard to the device and slicked back Emily’s hair with the comb. Taking her place behind Emily, Lily said,”Alright, here we go”, and switched on the clippers.
Emily felt the vibration slip into her scalp and down it. As she watched, Lily manually took off the hairs that stuck to the tool and went for another pass. Front, back, left, and right side of Emily’s head was buzzed beautifully by the barber lady. The girl saw that her hair was shorter than an inch, maybe even shorter than her boyfriend’s.
When Emily’s head was all one millimeter, Lily dusted the hair off the girl’s shoulders and lap. She detached the guard and turned the clippers back on. Her hand touched the shorn crown of the girl’s head and she tilted it down to clean up her neckline and around her ears. A final dusting later, Lily undid the cape and swiveled the chair back. Emily looked around herself and mused,”At least, there’s less hair than I expected”
”Yeah”,Dean mused,”You look so hot without it”
Emily couldn’t help but blush,”Thanks babe”
