The Transformation by David Cavendish .

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It was a long time ago now but I remember the day I was transformed from a scruff bag into a smart boy !

My mother had got married to a Head Master and he made it his mission to make me into the perfect son . My biological father had left when I was really young so I had no idea who he was . The weird thing was I got excited about it , I looked unkempt and I hated it but I let it stay that way , now I was given no option but to conform . It was August 1967 and I was 16 . It was a Saturday like any other or so I thought when he came into my room and said " Get a move on David , we're going to the barber's " I had this feeling of panic and excitement and just sat there in a daze until he barked " let's go "

We drove there neither one of us said anything until he broke the silence by saying I was going to get my act together and make my mother proud of me . The next thing I was being ushered through the door of this scruffy old barber shop which looked like it belonged in the 1930s . The place was packed and we sat there for what seemed like an eternity until I was called to the chair , the barber laughed and said " what's it going to be son ? " I never got the chance to say because behind me I heard " a proper short back and sides 50s style "

There I was , caped up looking a sheep ready to be sheared . The place had more customers coming in all the time and I felt like every set of eyes was on me . The clippers came on and I felt a sensation in my stomach like I never had before . The hair started falling in chunks , my step father sat there looking , no expression on his face . I tried to concentrate on that , he wasn't angry or smug or anything like that . It was like in his mind it had to be done and that was that ! When I finally looked in the mirror which was after the snipping and clipper sound had stopped I didn't recognize the person staring back at me . It was short on top and I had what the Americans call " whitewalls " . It was like I couldn't move a muscle then the barber said , " almost done now son " . He took the top of a huge jar of brylcreem , I remember the smell hitting my nostrils , he took out a huge glob and rubbed it into my hair , then another dollop ! I had a side part that was a sharp as a razor and because the top looked so greasy the back and sides stood out even more . The cape was removed from my neck , the barber got paid and my step father beamed with pride , that was a first . We left the shop and not a word was spoken until we got home . I felt so confused , I hated it but I loved it ! My mother was out for the morning and I thought , oh well , that's that but not so . Now the lecture began , " David , you have potential and I intend to see you fulfil it , we are all going out for lunch later on and you are going to look the part so go upstairs and get changed " On my bed was a brand new white shirt and a three piece suit with a grown up tie . I put these on with loathing and excitement , the next thing I was jerking off like a thing possessed . After which I felt like I had been hit by a train , I knew in that moment that this was what I had always wanted but never had . Someone who would make me toe the line . I came downstairs and he looked at me with pride , no one had ever done that before . My mother was so happy she got all tearful and we went out to lunch .

That was many years ago as I say and I came to love this man as my father and went on to become a conservative young man who got A levels and went to college . Now , I am in my late fifties . I seek to honour this man who made me his son to this day , an hour or so before I began writing this story I went to the barbers , you can guess the cut of course !

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