Ponytail… Gone by Mads

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I was 14 and living a pretty relaxed life, I would go to school and then chill out with my friends in the evenings. My parents were pretty relaxed too, let me do what I wanted, didn't care about how I looked, or who I hung out with. But suddenly one evening things began to change, they told me they were going to move to America, some sort of business decision. I thought I would have to move to and started thinking of ways to get out of it but then they said that I would go and live with my Uncle. That seemed worse, my Uncle didn't have children but I knew he was awfully strict and didn't like any sort of freedom for kids.

However I didn't have any choice in the matter and the time came about a month later for me to move. To begin with it was alright, it was summer so no school and I didn't have any friends there so I wasn't upset about being kept inside. This was the same for a couple of weeks, just small changes like what I was allowed to wear and do. But they hadn't said anything about my pride possession, my hair. To me my hair was everything, it was way past my shoulders, around my chest, and curled slightly at the bottom. I had never had short hair in my life and didn't even think about anyone doing anything to it.

So when one evening my Uncle called me down to the table for a chat I didn't think anything of it, school was starting soon and I presumed it must be about that, how wrong could I be. "Boy, I think its time for that hair of yours to be cut." "What do you mean, just a trim, cause you know I love my hair" "We'll see about that, I'll take you tomorrow" And with that he left the room, I felt like crying because as much as I tried to kid myself it would just be a trim, I had this terrible gut feeling it wouldn't be.

After a sleepless night I got into the car, I knew that disobeying orders would only make it worse, if it could be. Neither of us spoke on the way there, and for the first time in a while I wish I had just gone to America with my parents. They wouldn't have made me do this. The car drew up outside a really old barbers shop, one of the ones you see in movies where it is really dark and there is only one mirror.

There were no other customers in the shop just the barber with no hair whatsoever. I froze, but my Uncle pushed me towards the chair, I was secretly hoping for a trim still. I expected the barber to ask me what I wanted but instead he looked to my Uncle to instantly replied with "You know what to do". A rubber band was taken from the side which he pulled all my long hair tightly into, hurting my head. "You've got a lot of hair boy, well not for long at least" I couldn't reply my throat was too dry. A pair of shiny scissors was taken from a draw and I then began to hear the snip snip of the ponytail being cut off. He was doing it purposely slowly, I could tell but I couldn't respond. Then suddenly my head felt lighter and I saw the uneven stands of hair fall into my face, hiding my tears. Whilst handing the pony to my Uncle he said "There you go, I'll finish the cut now, or should I say buzz". Those words hung in my ears, couldn't he just leave it as this? This wouldn't be too bad. But no the clippers came out and he put the smallest guard onto them, my heart sunk. The buzzing sound filled my ears as he took the first swipe, right in the front of my forehead, as if to say there is no going back now. Slowly the hair fell onto my lap, my thick long hair being ruined. I wondered what people at school would think, how much they would laugh.

He had finished the top of my head when he pushed my chin to my chest to finish it, all I could see was the pile of hair on my lap and think about how stupid I looked. The time went so slowly it felt like agony but they he jolted my head back up and I was done. The barber made some smug comment to my Uncle which I couldn't hear but I just wanted to be swallowed up by the ground, what was the point of this? I walked out of the shop, tears in my eyes.

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