Expectations

“Look at the old coot sitting out in front of his shop! His haircuts are so far of date it’s a wonder he can put food on the table!“ Dylan teased as the group of teenagers passed the barber sitting on a bench in front of his shop. It was the same thing every day. The group passed his shop every afternoon on their way home from high school and if he wasn’t giving a haircut the barber was on the bench out front reading a book. And every time the same taunting from the boys the same reaction from the barber, he’d just smile and read on.

The group of kids consisted of four football players and their girlfriends, most of whom were cheerleaders. Same route every day and every day the barber just smiled and read on.

Then one day things changed. As the group approached the old barber he didn’t seem to sense their approach. He was preoccupied looking at something in his hands and didn’t notice Dylan approach him. Before he realized what was happening Dylan snatched the item from his hand and looked at it. It was a photo of a young girl. The barber jumped to his feet and demanded that Dylan return it. This resulted in a game of keep away between the four boys and the barber.

“Look at this girl with a dorky haircut. I’ll bet you gave her that haircut! Why? Was she naughty and needed to be punished?”

“Give that back right now young man!”

The barber reached out at the last second and almost got the frame but instead blocked Dylan’s pass to his friend and the frame hit the sidewalk shattering the glass within.

Ashley, Dylan’s girlfriend could see that the barber had been crying and was very upset. “Stop this right now Dylan!”, she commanded. “You should be ashamed of yourselves! All of you! Get out of here, now!”

The group had had their fun and had places to be so they headed on down the road still laughing about what they’d done. Ashley bent down and picked up the frame and began picking up the pieces of glass on the sidewalk. “I’m so sorry about my friends. They can be such jerks sometimes. And I’m really sorry about your frame. I’d be happy buy you a new one to replace it.”

“Thank you young lady, that’s very kind of you to offer but that isn’t necessary. Please come inside though. You’ve cut your finger on the sharp glass. I’ve got some antiseptic and bandaids inside.”

Ashley followed him in and he headed off to the back room to get his first aid kit. She threw the broken glass in the trash, then took a moment to look around. She’d never been in a barbershop before. She could smell stale cigarettes and some sort of machine oil. The shop had a black and white tile floor, a row of wooden waiting chairs by the large front window, and two large black and chrome barber chairs in the middle. These chairs were massive compared to the salon chairs that she was used to. They also had a large footrest on them.

She decided to sit in one while she waited for the barber to return. She was curious to see if they were comfortable. Unsure how to navigate the large footrest, she straddled it then hopped up into the chair and scooted back. It was massive, but so comfortable. The footrest thingy even rotated so her feet could reach it.

She then looked at the photo she had removed it from the frame. Just then the barber returned. He inspected the cut for glass slivers then applied the antiseptic and bandaid.

“She is a very pretty girl. Do you mind me asking who she is?”

“That’s my daughter Eve. Today would have been her birthday. She was a really special spirit. Her mother died during child birth and it was just me and my little Evee against the world. She was diagnosed with cancer not long after that picture was taken on her 13th birthday, and she was gone less than a year later.”

“Oh my gosh, I am so sorry to hear that. I feel awful that we broke your frame and were so mean on a day that is already so emotional for you. If there is anything I can do to make it up to you please let me know.”

“Thank you young lady, I’m sorry I didn’t even get your name.”

“It’s Ashley, sir”

“Well thank you Ashley. Im Frank. It took courage for you to stand up to your friends like that. You kind of remind me of my Eve with your sweet spirit and kindness. Why do you hang out with that bunch?”

“I don’t know, I think because as head cheerleader I’m expected to be on the arm of the quarterback, but I don’t see a future with him. He is very handsome, but he is an ugly person inside. Does that make sense?”

“It does. There is a lot of pressure in life to live up to what you think people expect of you. But what does Ashley want, really want?”

“I want to just be me. As head cheerleader I have to look a certain way and act a certain way. I have to have all this long blonde hair and makeup, and wear all the latest fashion   It’s exhausting, but more importantly it doesn’t feel like me.”

“So what are you going to do about it? What does the real you look like if not all this?”

“I need a reset. I need to dress like I want, get rid off all this hair, and change friends. The haircut your daughter has in the photo, can you please give me that same haircut?”

“Are you sure about this? It is a might shorter than what you have now.”

“Oh yes, please! I want to simplify, and I can’t think of a better start.”

“Ok then, it would be my honor to start you down this new path of simplification.”

With that he whirled his baby blue silk cape around her and cinched it up over a tissue neck strip. He then pumped the chair up higher and higher.

“What is the paper neck thingy for Frank? I’ve never been in a barbershop before?”

“Why, it’s to keep little cut hairs from going down your shirt.”

He combed her hair down straight and readied his tools.

“Are you sure about this Ashley? We can start with a longer haircut first if you’d like.”

“Nope, my mind is made up. Just like the picture please.”

“Ok, here we go”

He reached under his workstation and retrieved a bowl which he placed on her head. Ashley started to have second thoughts about this and was about to say something when she heard a loud SCHNICK next to her right ear and saw two feet of blonde hair slide down the cape into her lap. Whether she wanted it or not was now a moot point and she had no choice but to sit there until he was done. SCHNICK, SCHNICK, SCHNICK, on he went around the back of the bowl using the small bowl as a guide. As the hair tumbled and mounted in her lap, her anxiety level grew but so did a certain excitement in her core. She’d never experienced this during a haircut before, and didn’t want it to stop.

It was at this point that she looked out the front window and noticed a boy from her school laughing and filming her haircut. Like it our not, she was now committed to simplifying. She doubted her friends would want to be seen with her after this video gets out. She was sure she was quite a sight with all the hair on the right side cut above her ear and the left side still intact, not to mention having a bowl on her head. She stared at the mound in her lap and thought about what it represented. Her old life, her fake, phony, plastic, superficial life. She swatted the cape from underneath to get it off her making it fly to the floor below. Good riddance.

Frank was now passing the left ear and approaching the long hair hanging down over her eyes. She’d never had bangs before, but after a few final SCHNICKS she now had bangs a good inch above her eyebrows. Frank removed the bowl and her head felt so much lighter now. She shook her head from side to side and could feel the hair fly out away from her head and quickly land back in place.

“Ok darlin, I need you to look down at your feet now so I can cut the hair on your neck. Can you do that for me?”

“Yes, Frank”

Ashley jumped when the clippers fired up. They were so loud and she’d never had them used on her before. She felt the bare metal when the clippers touched her lower neck, and marveled how the tone changed when they made contact with her hair and chewed their way up, up, up until reaching the line created by the bowl. The vibrations on her neck went straight to her core and she clenched her thighs tight in response, “Oh my, that feels wonderful.”

Frank carefully clippered away all the lower  hair from ear to ear, then gently repositioned her head up, moved her ears as needed and removed the remaining hair from both sides. Ashley was in heaven, in spite of the paparazzi filming her outside. She had never enjoyed a haircut more.

To soften the bluntness of the bowl, Frank then undercut the bowl slightly, point cut the ends, and used his thinning shears to remove some bulk from the top. He finished the cut off by applying hot shaving cream around the lower back and sides of her head then shaving it with a straight razor.

“Ok Ashley, are you ready to see the new you?”

“More than ready sir”

Frank turned the chair away from the front window towards the mirror. Ashley’s eyes got big when she saw herself. The sight was surreal. Her sitting in a large barber chair with a baby blue cape with blonde hair all over it covering her body, and her small little head poking out the top. She a small oval of hair on top that came down to about an inch above her ears and eyebrows, and no hair below that. Gone were the long blonde locks that she hid behind for so many years.

Frank was getting worried because she had yet to react. “Well, what do you think?”

She tentatively pulled a hand out from under the cape and reached up to touch the bare skin. The sensation was so electric. She loved how it felt. She ruffled the bowl on top and it fell perfectly back into place. She turned her head from side to side quickly and marveled how the hair arched out away from her head the fell neatly back into place. A big smile told Frank all he needed to know.

“I love it Frank! Thank you, thank you, thank you!” She jumped up still caped sending blonde hair flying everywhere, and gave him a big hug.

“You’re welcome kiddo. I’m glad you like it. It is very becoming on you and really shows off your big kind eyes and smile.” He removed the cape and neck strip, and she got her first look at her new haircut with her current school attire.

“Frank, do you have a wet rag I can borrow?”

“Sure, here you go”

Ashley took the rag and washed her face thoroughly removing the heavy makeup she’d always worn. Her new haircut looked so much better with just a little mascara and lip gloss. Frank agreed.

“I’ve got to run to cheerleading practice, but maybe we could get ice cream sometime and you could tell me more about your daughter.”

“I’d like that, thank you Ashley for helping me through a tough day”

“Thank you Frank for being the catalyst I needed for change”

Ashley’s transformation, including the video of it, was the talk of cheerleading practice that day. Some girls were calling for her removal as head cheerleader because she didn’t “fit the mold” of what a head cheerleader should be. Ashley just smiled and ignored it all. No sense fretting about things she can’t control. This new mindset was so liberating for her.

The new mindset caught the attention of another cheerleader that Ashley didn’t really know that well, Stacy. Like everyone, she too was shocked when she first saw Ashley’s new haircut. She kept stealing glances when she could wondering why she would do it. But the more she watched, the more she started to think she understood. Ashley radiated a new quiet confidence, and her hair was lively and bouncy during drills but always returned perfectly to its original state.

After practice Stacy approached Ashley, “Hi Ashley, do you mind if I ask you something? You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, but why did you cut your hair? I mean, boys like long hair and cheerleaders are supposed to have long hair, right?”

“That’s exactly why I did it Stacy. Because I was tired of doing what everyone expected me to do rather than what I really wanted. Does that make sense?”

“Yes, I feel the same way sometimes. How did Dylan react?”

“ I couldn’t care less. Dylan is a Neanderthal and it was a mistake to date him. I see that now. I want to be with someone that wants the real me, not some plastic Barbie doll.”

“Wow, you are so brave. I wish I was as brave as you.”

“Why can’t you be? I’ll support you. I’d be thrilled to help you be your real true self. Then there’d be more of us in the world.”

“I don’t know. My parents might be angry with me.”

“I’m sure they just want you to be happy, however you are.”

“C-can….can I touch your hair?”

“Sure, look how quickly it air dried after practice and is still in perfect shape. I’m really loving this new haircut. It was my first step in becoming who I truly want to be.”

Stacy tentatively reached out and ran her fingers up Ashley’s bald nape. A shiver ran through Ashley’s body which Stacy took note of.

“Are my hands cold?”

“No, I’m discovering how sensitive my nape is without all that hair in the way. It sends tingles all through me in a good way.”

Stacy continued exploring Ashley’s bald skin thin flicked upwards on the bottom of the bowl to see how bouncy the hair was. She too was feeling tingles. She started imagining it was her own head she was feeling and looking at. She clenched her legs tight and pulled her hand away as she felt her panties start to dampen.

“Ashley, I know I don’t know you that well but I want to know you better and strive to be a better person like you. I don’t know how to ask this so I’ll just blurt it out…will you help me change?”

Ashley took Stacy’s hands in hers and replied, “I would be honored to.”

“I really love your haircut. I can’t take my eyes off it. You wouldn’t be angry with me if I copied it would you?”

“No, in fact I know the best place in town to get a good bowl cut and if we hurry we can get it done tonight.”

They headed out of of the locker room and set off towards the barbershop. They found Frank just finishing up with a customer when they walked in.

“Hi Frank, this is my friend Stacy. Is it too late for her to get a haircut tonight?”

“Not at all. Hop on up in the chair Stacy and I’ll be with you after I ring him up.”

Stacy looked at the big chair and froze. She’d seen barbershops on tv but never been in one. The chair was massive and the place was so masculine and sterile compared to the salons she frequented. The chair was so large and the large clippers were intimidating.

Ashley sensed her reticence and took her by the elbow helping her up into the big chair. “You got this Stacy.”

She sat back with a death grip on the armrests. “I’m not sure I can go through this”, she questioned as she nervously ran her fingers through her wavy chestnut hair that cascaded halfway down her back.

“You don’t have to change Stacy. You have to want to or we can leave and you can go on with life as usual. Think about it. What do you really want to do?”

Stacy looked at Ashley, then down at her hair again. “Can I feel your head again?”

Ashley smiled and leaned in offering her head up. Stacy ran her fingers over the smooth skin then up into then up into the short hair on top. A smile came to her face, she put her hands in her lap, leaned back, looked at Frank and said, “I’m ready now.”

Ashley sat in the other barber chair as Frank applied the baby blue silk cape and neck strip to Stacy’s neck. Frank combed all her hair straight down, including the hair in front which now covered her eyes. Then came the little glass bowl. Stacy glanced at Ashley with a nervous look,  straining to see her through all the hair hanging down.

“It’s ok Stacy. Trust the process”

-Schnick-Frank had started at the right side of her bangs sending two foot strands of wavy brown hair into her lap. -Schnick, Schnick, Schnick- she could now see clearly again as all the long hair in front was now gone. Stacy realized she had a death grip on the armrests and had been holding her breath. She eased the tension in her hands and took some quick short breaths trying to relax.

-Schnick, Schnick, Schnick-the right side locks fell away as Frank continued on around the bowl. Stacy began to question whether she had done the right thing, but then saw Ashley’s reassuring smile, and her adorable haircut. She wanted this. She wanted the haircut, the change in mindset, to be set free from others expectations. She found an inner peace and smiled for the first time since entering the barbershop.

As Frank made the last snip and removed the bowl Stacy looked at the halo of hair surrounding the barber chair. She likened it to an angel getting its wings. Still, it was hard to believe that all that hair came from her head.

She was startled out of her reverie by a loud high pitched whine approaching her head. She knew that noise had to belong to the big scary clippers she had seen earlier.

“Head down please, darlin”

She felt the clippers start low on her neck then rise higher and higher. Oh my god, this feels amazing! A slight moan escaped her lips as her hands pressed hard between her legs. Ashley just gave her a knowing smile as her face and neck flushed red.

Frank didn’t have many female clients, but quickly realized that buzzing the nape was highly pleasurable for them so he took his time going over the area multiple times to be sure he didn’t miss anything. Stacy closed her eyes and grinned ear to ear as the clippers stimulated her to the core. Ashley hadn’t told her about this hidden benefit of her new simplified look.

Frank finished up buzzing the sides and undercutting the bowl a few inches, then set the clippers down and gave Stacy’s face and neck  a thorough brushing to remove any stray little hairs. Stacy pulled one off her tongue that had found its way into her mouth.

Frank softened the edges of the bowl and thinned the bulk on top. Stacy was giddy to see her transformation, but then decided maybe she could wait a little longer as Frank spread the warm shaving cream over the lower portion of her head. Another moan escaped her lips and her eyes closed as she leaned into Frank’s gentle touch. Sensing her enjoyment, he took his time making sure every inch was thoroughly covered.

As he wiped his hands and stropped his razor, Stacy kicked her feet up and down like an excited little school girl. She and Ashley exchanged knowing smiles, then Frank directed Stacy’s head down and shaved any last remnants of hair from the lower portion of her head.

This never before explored portion of Stacy’s head was teeming with new found sensations. Frank’s breath on her nape, and his tender touch as he wiped off any excess foam and applied aftershave. Now came the moment of truth. Frank turned the chair around to face the mirror. It took a few seconds for Stacy’s brain to comprehend that the image in the mirror was her. Slowly she raised her hands up to her nape, gliding over the baby smooth skin, on up into the short soft cap of hair on top. She touched her newly exposed ears, realizing she really didn’t need so many piercings.

Ashley came up and hugged her from behind, putting her bowl cut next to Stacy’s in the reflection she whispered, “You are so beautiful. I hope you feel beautiful because that is what really matters.”

“I do, I really do! Thank you for giving me the courage to do this. And thank you Frank, I absolutely love this haircut!”

She quickly turned her head side to side watching the hair fly out to the sides then immediately fall perfectly back into place. She giggled like a little school girl.

Frank removed the cape and neck strip releasing a torrent of brown hair to the floor.

“Ladies, I haven’t removed this much hair in one day since I was a barber at boot camp, but might I say that you both look stunning.”

“Oh, just one more thing”, Ashley replied then grabbed a rag and thoroughly washed Stacy’s face. She reached into her purse and reapplied just a minimal amount of makeup and the transformation was complete. “Ta da”

Stacy look at her whole reflection in the mirror now and frowned. “This Pink track suit just looks and feels wrong now.”

“I agree. Let’s hit the mall on the way home and see if we can fix that.”

They skipped the trendy stores and found a department store. There they each purchased an assortment of sundresses in different lengths and colors, flowing skirts, simple tops, a rainbow of cardigansI, and some simple jean jackets. In the shoe department they opted for Chuck Taylor high tops and simple flats.

Needless to say, the next day they were the talk of the school. The video of Ashley’s haircut was everywhere. Ashley and Stacy arrived together, Ashley in a new short yellow and white sundress with a denim jacket and high tops. Stacy was wearing a longer green and white sundress with a white cardigan and flats. They strode arm in arm down the hall as students gawked, gossiped, and pointed. They didn’t care. They walked unabashedly down the hall, their bowl cuts bouncing and full of life as they confidently stride to their lockers. They ignored the snide remarks, chalking them up to people’s expectations they were no longer meeting.

Both girls were pleased by the enthusiasm shown by their teachers, and even some students who now toyed with the idea of following suit. Of course, the superficial friends now shunned them in the halls and at lunch, but that was their loss and the girls agreed they were better off without them. Dylan being one of them, made it clear he wanted nothing to do with Ashley now, like only his opinion mattered in the relationship. Ashley just smiled and walked away not wanting to waste another moment of her life on him.

After school Ashley walked home alone and as she approached the barbershop saw Frank sitting outside on his bench. She stopped and sat telling him all about hers and Stacy’s first day with their new outlook. He complimented her on her outfit and said it was very becoming with her new haircut.

Dylan and her former friends chose to walk on the other side of the street when they passed which in Ashley’s mind was progress. While they were sitting there Terrance, one of the offensive linemen on the football team, walked by. Then he turned around and came back.

“Gosh Ashley, you sure look pretty today if you don’t mind me saying so. I ur…..uh…mean you were pretty before but now I think you’re even prettier.”

Frank sensed a moment happening and went inside to tidy the shop. Ashley patted the spot next to her on the bench, “Please, sit Terrance.”

“How did Dylan like your new haircut?”

“Well, let’s just say that I no longer care what he, or anyone else thinks about how I do my hair or how I dress. What’s important is that I be unapologetically me, like it or not.”

“You’re so brave. I wish I could do that. Everyone looks at me and sees a dumb jock. I feel like I have to live up to that stereotype rather than being who I really am or want to be.”

“If you want to, I can help you change. It is very liberating. Trust me. How about we start by taking off that letterman’s jacket. You are more than what you do on the football field. Next, all the jocks have this same shaggy haircut. Are you up to break free of that expectation?”

“I’m putting myself in your capable hands.

“Correction, you are not trying to meet my expectations. What would make you happy?”

“I want to be seen as both smart and masculine.”

Ashley led him into the barbershop and directed him into the barber chair. “Frank, Terrance would like a haircut that makes him look both smart and masculine. Can you help him?”

“I know just the haircut.”

Frank quickly applied the neck tissue and baby blue silk cape. There was no need to ratchet the chair higher with this big boy. Terrance looked at Ashley nervously. He had never been in a barbershop before. His mom had always taken him to her salon for his haircuts. He clenched his teeth and the armrests tightly.

Frank snapped the #1 guard on his trusty Oster clippers and stepped to Terrance’s right side. “Ready young man?”

“Yes sir” Terrance meekly responded.

With that, the big clippers fired up and then -Bzzzzzt-they made their first pass in front of his right ear sending four inch blonde surfer dude locks down into Terrance’s lap. Frank bent his ear this way and that as he sheared away all the hair up to his parietal ridge. Bzzzzzt, bzzzzt, bzzzzzt-On around the buzzing went until all that remained was an island of hair in top surrounded by vertical walls of short hair.

Frank then wet the hair, rubbed some hair product into it and used a brush and blow dryer to get remaining hair to stand straight up. He positioned Terrance’s head straight ahead , then used his comb held horizontally in his bangs to cut the front perfectly level and about an inch long. He flicked the cut hair off the comb and repositioned it behind his first cut, then buzzed that strip flat and even with the first cut. Slowly he worked his way towards the back of the head creating a perfectly flat plain on top. He then brushed it all up again and repeated the process three more times taking off minute amounts each time. He finished up by lathering and shaving the bottom hair line then turned the chair for Terrance to see.

The transformation was amazing. Ashley jumped to her feet and ran to his side as he looked at the left side, then the right, and finally the top. And then he took in all the blonde hair strewn across his lap and around the chair. His now former self laid bare around him while his new reality was staring back at him in the mirror. He liked what he saw. His rugged jaw was now very prominent and his big blue eyes were now more visible.

Ashley leaned in over his shoulder and whispered, “You look less like a football groupie, and more like someone who thinks for himself, but also are even more handsome.” She ran her fingers up the back of his head  then her flat palm over the flat bristles on top, then leaned in further and gave him a little kiss on the cheek causing him to turn bright red.

He paid, thanked Frank for a great haircut and headed out hand in hand with Ashley for football and cheerleading practice.  Terrance’s new flattop was the buzz at today’s practices. The coaches commended him on his new streamlined look, and others took note of how much cooler he seemed to be during the workout and how little effort is was after showering.

He and Ashley went to the mall afterwards to simplify his wardrobe. He opted for plain polos, short sleeved button down shirts, a few flannel shirts, some canvas pants, and some computer glare glasses to complete the look. He wore one of the outfits out of the store so he could take Ashley out to dinner that night.   

Within a week, all the offensive and defensive linemen had visited Frank’s barbershop. The sported flattops of all varieties including squared corners, rounded corners, landing strips, high and tight, horseshoe, and even one flattop boogie. Because of their size, no one dared tease them about their new looks, but they wouldn’t care if they did. All that mattered was that they liked how they looked.

Ashley lost her position as head cheerleader because the cheerleader coach had old fashioned notions about how cheerleaders should look. She didn’t care because she was more than a cheerleader and now had more time to explore what that meant, and to develop her budding relationships with Terrance and Stacy.