Emma’s Haircut

Note- Hi, everyone! This is my first story, hope y’all enjoy! I also drew some pictures to go along with the story, feel free to scroll down all the way to the bottom to access them 🙂

“Ow!” Emma sighed and turned around. Her hair had gotten caught in her chair once again. Every time she sat down at her desk at school, a few long strands would get stuck in the little screws that bolt together the shitty chairs found in every single classroom. And every time she got up, she would feel a sharp, tearing pain at the back of her head. She excused herself to the bathroom.

It didn’t matter if she wore her hair in a braid or a ponytail, somehow her long locks would find themselves entangled in those cursed seats. She tried putting her hair up in a bun too, but although her hair wouldn’t get stuck in the chairs, she’d have a headache at the end of the day from the weight of such long, heavy hair dragging her head down. She couldn’t win.

They had the same chairs in her middle school. Emma thought she’d be free when she entered high school, but the blood drained from her face on the first day of school when she stepped into her homeroom. Not only that, but when she toured the local community college, they had the same stupid freaking chairs! What was with these schools and those awful seats? She was never going to be free of them. Or at least she’d be stuck with them for a few more years at least. She might as well just cut her hair off.

Wait.

That didn’t seem like too bad of an idea. She looked in the mirror, absentmindedly twirling a lock of deep auburn hair around her finger. No matter what she did with her hair, she was in pain. Not only that, but the weather where she lived was always quite warm, and the days would only get warmer until school let out. Emma hated the way loose strands would always stick to the back of her neck in warm weather. And how her hair would fall into her face right when she needed to concentrate. And how it tickled her skin when she couldn’t get it out of the way. And how long it took for her to brush and maintain her hair. And how long it took to dry.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized how much trouble her hair caused her.
She began gather her hair into a topknot. She loved her hair. She loved how silky and shiny it was after years of deep conditioning. She loved how its length would drape itself over her shoulder when she tilted her head. She loved how it softly brushed against her hips when worn down. But it was such a hassle. It was so much work to take care of, but was it really worth it?
Right as Emma situated her her into a bun, the hair tie sagged under its weight and sprung free, her hair tumbling down from its twist. That was it. Her hair had to go.

As she walked home, she thought about different potential hairstyles.  A short trim wouldn’t be enough to tame her wild tresses, so maybe she should get bangs? Then again, bangs might tickle her forehead too much.  She definitely wanted it short enough where it wouldn’t stick to her neck in the summers.  It was late springtime and she was already feeling the warmth as she made the walk home.  As she mulled over her options, she noticed a small barbershop across the road.  Before she knew it, she had crossed the street and found her self standing right outside the door.

There was only one person in there, a woman in her twenties with a bright pink mohawk. She was wearing a tee shirt and black jeans, with a red apron on top.  As Emma pushed open the door, the woman looked up and smiled.

“Hi there, I’m Tami.  What can I do ya for?”

“Hi, I would like you to shave my head. ”

There, she had said it.  There was no turning back.  With a deep breath, she walked over to one of the leather barber chairs and lowered herself into it.

“Alright hon, are ya sure about this?” Tami asked as she as she ripped a thin piece of paper from a dispenser. “Y’know, I don’t want your parents coming to yell at me after you get home and they see what you’ve done to yourself.” She flung a haircutting cape into the air and wrapped it around Emma, fastening it so it was tight, but not too tight.

Oh gosh!! She didn’t even think of what her parents would say! Oh well, what they don’t know now might not hurt them later. “U-uh yes… I’m sure…”

“Darling, you don’t sound too sure.  Here, lemme tell ya what, why don’t I start you off with a bob, and we can see how ya feel about it from there.”

Emma nodded, then turned to the mirror to get one last look of herself with long hair. “Yes, that sounds alright.”

Tami wasted no time. She reached over to the counter to grab her shears, then gathered Emma’s hair into a ponytail close to her neck and sank the scissors into her long auburn locks. They crunched for some time until finally, the last of the strands severed and the ponytail came free from the back of her head.

She then inserted the scissors right below Emma’s ear, then with a satisfying snip, about 6 inches of hair slid down from her head. Tami moved to the other side. ssssnip! More hair rained down. Tami then put her scissors near the back of her head, the blades felt cold against her neck. Emma shivered. With each snip of the shears, another long lock slithered down the cape and to the floor. Her head already felt much lighter. Tami moved toward the front and with a comb, she sliced off some strands to create super blunt, perfectly even bangs. With a quick blast of the hairdryer to blow away any remaining strands, Tami had finished.

“What do you think?”

Emma looked in the mirror. With the mass of hair gone, she looked more mature, and she liked the sleek look of such a precise bob, which hung to her chin.  Her short bangs framed her face, sitting a millimeter away from her naturally arched brows. However, when she swung her head back and worth, her hair tickled her neck and face.

“I really like it! You did a good job. But my hair still gets in my face… I think I’d still like you to shave my head for me.”

Tami smirked and grabbed her clippers.  With the click of a button, they roared to life.
“No need to tell me twice hun, you got it!”

Tami positioned the clippers at the front of Emma’s forehead and without hesitating, pulled the vibrating clippers right through her auburn tresses. Like a hot knife through butter, the strands easily came away from her head and slithered along the cape and down toward the floor, leaving behind a patch of milky pale scalp peeking out from under rough dark stubble. Tami moved the clippers to the left of the original path, then slid them through her hair again.  A cool rush of air blew across the top of Emma’s head. Alternating to the right side of the growing short patch, Tami made a third pass. Emma could feel the vibrating blades slice through her long locks as they moved from her forehead to her crown.  The barberette flicked the clippers, sending another sheet of shiny auburn hair to the ground.  Emma raised her head to face the mirror.  The very top of her head was covered in short stubble, while long, luscious locks sat untouched on either side below her ears.  She let out a chuckle.

“There’s no going back now, darling.”

Tami grinned at her in the mirror, patting the top of her now nearly bare head, and ran her hand through the fluffy buzzcut. Emma sighed and raised her head, leaning into her hand.

“Hey, there’ll be enough time for that later, I gotta finish you up. Unless you’d like to leave looking like that?”

Emma giggled and shook her head.

“Nope! Finish me up!”

With a nod, Tami carved away more hair, bending her ear to get around it, making sure not a single long hair was left.  After finishing the left side of her head, she moved to the right, peeling more strands off of her head and down to the floor of the barbershop. As Tami ran the clippers up Emma’s nape, she involuntarily shuddered.

”Don’t worry, you’ll get used to that feeling, maybe even like it.”

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