Thomas
Chapter One
Chariss checked her hair in the mirror before she went out the door. Yep, her hair looked nice. Beautiful blonde tresses that cascaded a little past the middle of her back. Today they hung in slightly spiral curls. She drove out to the new coffee shop five miles away. When she got there, she noticed that there was a new barber shop across the road. “That’s a place I’ll never visit,” she laughed. Inside the new coffee shop there was a good crowd and she looked over the menu for some good mocha. After her purchase she sat outside and enjoyed her selection. “This is pretty good stuff,” she thought. It was a lovely day and she leaned back in the chair and enjoyed the sunshine as she slowly finished the cup.
The next moment, as if coming out of a dream, she noticed she was in the barbershop right across the road. Still a bit dazed, she looked left and right and saw a few people in the waiting chairs. There were two male barbers. Both stood about six feet tall and looked to be strong, no-nonsense, and in control. What was surprising was that in the two barber chairs were two females, one on the right in her mid-20s, and the other appeared to be in her late teens. The one on the right had shoulder length hair and appeared to be losing a few inches. She moved her head to look at Chariss and the barber quickly grabbed her head and firmly moved it back to the position he wanted it. He closed his scissors and Chariss saw a large clump of hair hit the floor. Chariss thought, “Well I guess you could see a girl coming to a barber shop to get a trim, but that’s more than a trim.” Then Chariss looked to her left and saw a girl that had a look of… what was it? Defeat? Submission? Chariss couldn’t put her finger on it. But the thing that caught her attention more than the girl’s expression was what was happening in the chair. Scarlet hair on the cape and on the floor in piles, all the same color, must all belong to that girl. She had just a little bit of hair left on top, and the barber was finishing shaving the rest of her head with something that looked like what a guy might shave his neck with. The barber held her head firmly and used the tool on the stubble remaining. It made a grinding sound as he touched her head.
“Next!” she heard the barber say to the right. A boy got up into the chair and the barber threw a cape over him. A lady said something, and the barber nodded. He turned on the clippers and started buzzing the young guy’s head with no hesitation. Chariss observed how easily the clippers went through the hair. It just rolled right off his head and onto the cape in front. All of this was new to Chariss, and she was just taking it all in. The girl in the other chair was leaving. She stepped down and her legs wobbled a bit as she did. She stopped and looked at the hair – her hair – on the floor. Her face showed an expression of disbelief. As she walked away, the barber smirked as he popped the cape to remove the remaining scarlet hair that had not yet joined the rest on the floor. A man took the chair. Chariss thought he looked attractive. He had nice full brown hair. But not for long. The barber started with the clippers and ran them right down the middle. Chariss was stunned by the very “un-salon” atmosphere she was experiencing.
The barber on the right soon finished with the little boy and his mother got up and sat in the chair. “What is she doing?” Chariss wondered. Pretty, wavy, auburn hair hung down past her shoulders of the classy lady who looked like she was in her middle thirties. Chariss thought, “Her hair looks so healthy and full. Just a trim, surely, just a trim!” The now seated lady signed a sheet of paper. The barber came to her side and started the clippers. “Oh no, oh no!” Chariss thought, “I like her hair. No, don’t…” The clippers started at the side and moved up, dropping long wavy tresses to the cape. The woman’s eyes began to look as if she was coming out of a trance, but then her face started to have the same expression as the scarlet-haired girl had before. Chariss stared as the clippers swiped upward again and again, and shorn auburn hair fell to the cape and then would slide or roll down to the lady’s lap. The barber continued to work his way around with his other hand firmly placed on her head. “It’s as if she is his captive,” Chariss thought. The lady looked at the hair piling up in her lap with a look of bewilderment. The barber’s face showed no sympathy for the beautiful hair he was shearing off. With sadness, Chariss continued to watch the shearing until suddenly, “Next!” She looked to see if anyone was getting up and then she realized the other barber was talking to her! She rose to her feet but shook her head and quickly walked out the door.
(Yes, there is more to come of this story!)
