I asked for my next customer. A young guy, about 14 years old came to my chair. It was strange. He had a fresh bowl cut just above the ears and a number 2 in the sides and back. He came with his mother. After placing the cape around his head I asked how he wanted the haircut and his mother answered: “a military haircut please” and she explained she was so upset because just 4 days ago she had brought his son for a haircut and now a teacher at his school asked him to get a very short haircut or otherwise he won’t be able to go back to class.

 Since the mother thought she had spent too much money already in her son’s haircut, she wanted to be sure the teacher won’t complain again, so she asked for a very short haircut this time.

 When the mother left to the waiting room, the boy looked at me and ask me to leave enough hair to comb and to cut as little as possible. He was so sad about cutting his hair.

 I started to comb very slowly and asked him for how long he had been growing his hair, and he said he was the only one at that school with the hair so long and that he was able to kept it like that for about 4 months but this time the teacher got really angry and called personally his mum.

 Well, no more talking. I wet all the hair, lift the bangs of his left side with my comb, took the scissors, and looked at him in the mirror. I asked if he was ready. The boy couldn’t answer. He was looking horrified to the bangs I was going to cut.

 I took the scissors and cut about 2 inches of hair, leaving no more than half an inch. I kept cutting all the left side. When I was finished in that side I stopped and let him look at the huge difference between his right and left side. On his right side he still had his nice long hair but on the left there was almost no hair, giving him a new strange look.

 A tear started to appear in his eyes. He was hardly trying not to cry. After that pause I kept cutting all the hair left on the back and the right side. I did it slowly, and I could see how Andres, felt with pain, every time I closed the scissors over his beloved hair.

 When I was done on the sides and back, I paused again and let him stared his new look. Tears where now in the middle of his cheek. I told him, well, lets cut on top. Now you will really see a difference.

 After combing and lifting his hair with the comb I realized his hair was about 4 or 5 inches long. It was a pity to have to cut it down. I calculate it would take almost a year without cutting it to have it that long again. But, this is my job. So I took the scissors and cut the piece I had in my hands to a half an inch. Again I did my job slowly, pushing to the front the already cut hair so it finally fell down over the cape where Andres could see it.

He kept watching himself directly into the mirror. He was so helpless seeing huge amount of hair falling over the cape. From time to time I tried to talk to him but he didn’t answer any of my questions. I finally kept quiet and went on with my job.

 I decided to leave it longer in the front, about 1 and a half inches but when his mother saw me leaving the scissors, she came back and ask me to cut it down. And then asked me if I knew what was a military haircut. I was sorry for the kid and told her that it was pretty short already, but she threatened my to call my instructor and tell him I didn’t know what I was doing. Then the top front was gone.

Now she wanted me to pass the clippers all over the sides and back. There was nothing to do. I turned on the clippers and pushed Andres’s head with my left hand so his chin touched his chest. I heard a subtle plea of stopping while running the clippers with no attachments up in the back of his head. I cut off all the hair in the neck and over the ears. Andres could see now his white skin showing,

 I finished with the comb and clippers all over, leaving him a very nice and clean haircut. When I was done, I asked him if he liked, but again he was not able to speak because he was so afraid of crying out loud.

 He just nodded and walk away…

THE END