“Watchu lookin’ at?”Marian skipped to beside her best friend Luna. Lina was playing with her curls somberly and her face was solemn.
”Why can’t I have hair like them”,Luna cried. She was not satisfied with her black, ultra-curly hair.
”Well”,Luna took a moment to think,”Have you tried straightening it”
”Yes”,Luna replied, annoyed,”But it never stays straight, it always wants to curl back up”
”Hmm…”Luna thought for a good minute or two,”I’ve heard about girls in Asia who shave their head so that when their hair does grow out, it grows back thicker and healthier”
”Mmm”,Luna nodded as she listened,”I might try that”
When Luna went home, her father helped her with her homework. He always wanted to get it done as soon as his daughter walked in the door. As they were sailing through math, Luna asked,”Dad, I need a haircut. Could you take me to the hairdresser tomorrow”
Her father looked at her with skeptical eyes,”And what made you think you need a haircut?”
”Oh, it’s just getting too long you know”,Luna answered.
The man sighed,”Fine. I’ll pick you up from school tomorrow and we’ll get that done”
”Thanks daddy”,Luna smiled.
She was so happy to see her dad’s truck come up to the school the next day. As they drove to the hairdressers, Luna remarked,”I can’t wait until I have all these curls cut off, then my hair will grow back straight”
The girl’s father gave her a look like,’I don’t think that’s how it works but okay’.
The truck stopped outside a shop in the downtown area. It was one of those shops where anyone could get their hair cut and only cut. But it wasn’t a pure barbershop, it had a feminine touch about it. An older lady with grey hair in curlers on top of her head took Luna back to the styling chairs and put a booster seat down for her. With Luna firmly in the chair, the hairdresser pinned up the girl’s hair and wrapped a striped cape around her torso. Unpinning the hair, the barber lady pumped up the chair and started combing through the thick curls.
”Alright, honey”,the woman hummed as she spoke,”What are we doing to your hair today?”
”I want it all off”,Luna proclaimed with a beaming smile.
”Yo-you want me to…”the woman trailed off.
”I want it all shaved off, yes”,Luna confirmed her request.
Concerned, the barber lady walked back to Luna’s father and talked to him for a while. That annoyed Luna very much. Coming back to the chair, the hairdresser grabbed her clippers from their station.
”I’m assuming we’re taking it all to the skin”,the barber lady tried to summon a smile.
”That would be great, yes”,Luna smiled herself.
”Okay”,the woman switched on the clippers and took some curls in her palm while tilting Luna’s head a little,”Tilt your head a little to the right, sweetie”
The clippers scaled the right side of Luna’s head, taking off the curls as it went and only leaving little stubble. Up and around, the clippers took every last black curl on Luna’s head. When the buzzing was done, Luna couldn’t believe she was the girl in the mirror. She rubbed her head vigorously, couldn’t get enough of the style. That barber lady then took up another device, this one designed to remove stubble. One hand of hers held Luna’s head still and the other rolled the machine all over the girl’s heading, ridding the girl of any stubble that was left over. Barely a hair on the girl’s scalp, the barber lady tucked a towel into the cape and began to shake a can of shaving cream. A tiny mountain was sprayed on the Luna’s head and spread around. Unfolding a razor and installing a fresh blade, the veteran barber whittled off the cream in fantastic strokes. And when no cream was left to shave off, the barber lady removed the towel from the cape and retrieved a warm towel which the hairdresser used to buff the little girl’s head with.
”Whatchu think?”the lady asked as she switched off the clippers in which she used to clean off the back of the girl’s neck with.
”It looks great”,Luna responded ecstatically, looking round the chair. Her dead curls laid limply on the checkered floor,”Now, it’ll grow back straight”
The barber lady just smiled and playfully rolled her eyes.
