hoping to get a mullet... by Storyteller

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The story I am going to tell you happened when I was 19 years old. After a few months of not going to the barbershop, I managed to grow my hair long enough to finally ask the barber to do the mullet cut that a lot of guys were starting to have at the time. My hair was already over my shoulders, it completely covered my ears and the bangs covered my eyes and reached my mouth. I had been wearing long hair since I was 8 and it would be the first time I would cut it in a slightly different style, but I still wanted it to stay long.

I decided that it would be better to try another barber, because the one I've been going to since I was a child wasn't aware of the fashion cuts. So I decided to go to downtown, where there were usually more barbershops and I thought I would find one where I could get this cut without paying too much for it, because I was still financially dependent on my parents and I couldn't ask for more money than what I normally paid at the barbershop.

So, I went downtown and looked at some barbershops until I finally found one that looked good, it was small and humble but well maintained and had the price table very visible and the cut was even cheaper. So I went in, I respectfully said "Good morning, Sir" to the barber and he said "Good morning, how can I help you?" and I said "I came to get a haircut". He smiled, turned the barber's chair around and said "You can sit down, son" I smiled and thanked him and went to sit in his chair. He took a very large cape and a neckstrip and put it around me, closing it tight, making sure my hair didn't get stuck inside. He started combing my hair and said "Big hair, huh, son" I smiled and said "Yeah, Sir, I came here because I wanted to do a different cut this time" He smiled and said "Ah, great. And what cut do you want? "

It was then that I realized that I didn't know the name of the cut, the term mullet was not yet in use here. "Ah, Sir, gee, I don't know the name of the cut." He looked at me, and I said, "There is a famous artist who has it now. The one from the eight o'clock soap opera" As I was not used to watching soap operas, I got confused, the artist who had a mullet cut was the one from the soap opera at seven. And the barber said, "Oh, yes, of course, I understand that you want to switch to that cut."

He lifted the chair a little with the pedal and turned it, I had my back to the mirror. He then picked up his clippers, put the # 00000 blade on and went behind the chair, he pressed my head down, turned on the clippers and started to run them in the back of my head, from nape to crown. I felt a chill in my spine, I felt, for the first time, clippers touching my head, I felt the metal of the blade, the tickling and the vibration of it passing, the hum of the clippers and, at the end of that pass, a huge amount of hair falling out in front of me.

He then started a second pass of the clippers, again the same sensations in my head. He started talking to me "You know, son, several artists have adopted this haircut because a group on the soap opera is made up of boys who are in the army. It is a good fashion, nice that you want it, even with your hair being that long". I got scared and realized the mistake I had made. I was very embarrassed to tell him that I had made the mistake and just said "Yes, Sir, thank you". The barber kept going with his clippers, buzzing all my hair on the back.

Then he pushed my head to the side a little and started moving clippers on the side, from sideburn to crown. He was very fast there, I quickly felt that my ear was exposed and I felt the fresh air. He then bent my ear and ran the clippers around it a few more times. Then he went to the other side, changed the angle of my head and started doing the same thing he had done on the right side.
He then turned off the clippers a little, put my head in the straight position and stood in front of me looking. I didn't see myself, but it must have been very strange with those huge bangs, the hair full on top and cut extremely short on the sides. He was thoughtful and said "Son, in the soap opera, they don’t cut it exactly like army, because it's for TV, it's not really like it is in the army, and since you're opting for the style, I imagine you wouldn't want me not to make a cut that is as it really is in the army, isn't it? " I didn't even want the cut to be short, but the way he said the sentence I was confused, and I understood that I should say: "Yes, Sir".

He smiled and promptly changed the # 00000 blade to # 1, turned on the clippers and started to buzz the top of my head. I felt and heard that buzzing sound above and saw my hair fall out. Move after move he reduced the hair on the top to very small stubble. He said, "This cut is very much like you, son, it really looks like a soldier. How old are you, son? " I smiled and replied, "Nineteen, Sir." And he said, "So, perfect age of a soldier recruit" as he did the last passes with the clippers on top of my head.

He finally turned off the clippers, picked up a duster brush and dusted my whole head, being sure he did it well around my ears, turned me around to face the mirror and said "There, like the soldier in the soap opera". I looked in the mirror and I told him "Thank you, Sir", a little embarrassed as I tried hard not to show him my surprise.

He shook the cape so that the hair fell to the floor and carefully removed the cape and neckstrip and motioned the chair so that I could get off of it. I left the chair and paid him for the cut saying again "Thank you, Sir" and said goodbye to the barber. He said "Come back for another cut" and I left, totally ashamed of my stupidity and the cut, that I felt like everyone was looking at me and knowing I had done something stupid. I walked all the way home with my head down, avoiding being seen, but I also had that "Come back for another cut" from the barber in my head all the way home...

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