Extra Summer cut by Valens

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Extra summer cut

It was 3rd week of June, just one week before school end. I was 12 years old in 1968. I lived with my father and stepmother in a small city in the Netherlands. Just coming from school around noon time on a Wednesday my stepmother had prepared something to eat and said we would be going for a haircut for me as things were busy for her in the last week of school. Although typical ducth weather (rainy and not too warm), she said put your short pants on and a t shirt so you will not be bothered by the cape. "yes mom I said and changed clothes". I really looked very young in this outfit.
I came downstairs again where my stepmother was finishing a phone call and her cigarillo. "Off we go she said" which meant I had to sit on her bike and hold her. I remember my head was in her long blond hair as I held her not to fall off her bike.
She was saying something, but I could not hear it well. Then she stopped at the local barber salon. A very old place where I had never been. Usually, I went to a hair salon as I had nice hair which was a bit from the longer side with front bangs just above my eyes, over my ears and longer in the neck.
"The hair salon has no time this week" she said "so I called here, and they had place"

We entered the barber station and were barely greeted. There were two men and one woman in white long shorts â€" all a bit grumpy. Without much talking my mother went to sit next to another woman who was reading a magazine, smoking a cigarette (normal in the sixties). The lady looked in her end 40s and had long neatlyl-done hair. My mother took her cigarillos out of her purse and lighted up. Both started talking about cigars, magazines, and so on.
In the salon were 4 chairs and 3 chairs were occupied by boys my age. The first chair, the boy was getting his head lathered up with shaving cream. Something I had never seen done. The second chair had a boy with a crewcut and the third chair a boy with badly chopped hair. His front bangs were gone as week as severely cut pieces around his ears and neck. I thought he had done it to himself, or his friends made a bad joke with him.

The older lady in the salon called ‘NEXT’ with a loud voice. It scared me and I looked around then my mother pushed me and said its your turn. I went to the fourth chair and sat down. The older lady took a big cape and tissue. She must have been in her sixties (I think), grumpy and roughly did the tissue around my neck followed by the cape. It was made tighter than I usually get and rougher. She looked at my mother and asked "regular summer cut or extra summer cut". My mother looked to her and said ‘euh I don’t know". The lady next to my mother came in between and said "go for the extra one you will not regret it and It will relieve you for nearly all summer". "Sure said my mother extra is fine"

The lady nodded and took a small plate on which was written extra and put it onto the station in front of me. "I am going for a smoke she said to one of the barbers then I will get him ready". One nodded but little was spoken. I looked around and saw 2 out of the three boys had a similar plate saying extra in front of them and the boy with the crewcut had no plate at all.

While it was getting hot under the cape, my mother lighted another cigarillo and offered one to the lady next to her. Both were chitchatting while I was waiting. I could not see what was happening to the other boys only that the one with the crewcut was released from the station. He walked to the payment desk and waited until grumpy barber lady was back from her smoke. When she entered, she said "one regular summer cut will be 10 guilders. I wondered what extra would mean if he had a regular cut.

The Lady barber walked up to me took a comb and scissors. She combed roughly thru my hair and held up the front bangs with the comb. My front bangs came just above my eyes but were now pulled all te way up by her comb. As she was so close to me, I could smell her sweat and cigarettes. It was just awful, and it tried to avoid smelling her too much. The lady next to my mother seemed to point at me to my mother to watch what was going to happen and whispered "this is the moment they all hate" smiling and dragging from her cigarillo.

I was really getting nervous at this point when suddenly grumpy lady hacked my front bangs fully off. Barely half a centimeter was left, and she insisted on cutting it across the entire front. I gasped as I had no idea why she did that. Before realizing well how badly she had cut the front she was already cutting my neck part. I could barely speak and saw the women next to my mother just enjoy. My head was roughly put to the side and the grumpy barber lady hacked the hair well above my ears from one side then the other side. I looked now like the boy next to me and knew he didn’t do it himself nor his friends.

She put the scissors down and ruffled thru my hair "he is ready for you Tom". I saw that Tom was the first barber who was finishing the boy seated in the first chair. When Tom (the barber) moved I saw the young boy was totally bald. The barber started cleaning his head with a towel. Roughly he said to what I think was his mother (the lady next to my mother) "eyebrows" she seemed to nod and I saw him making a movement with a razor blade. The boy did not seem happy at all. While this was going on the other barber had arrived at the boy next to me with the hacked off hair. He took big clippers and said to the boy "extra summer for you, no worries anymore about a comb until Christmas". Then I heard a loud intimidating noise of the clippers shearing the top of the boy’s head. I felt uneasy and wanted to get out of the chair at that time

The first boy was released back to his mother. He looked awful â€" fully bald all his identity shorn away. His mother ruffled over his bare head and looked to my mother "its so easy for them to get a special and just for a guilder more. It gives me so much time available not to have to worry about their hair until well end of summer when I bring them in for another special". I had not noticed that Tom had approach me and was selecting clippers. He said to the lady barber "this was also an extra right" She nodded and said something like "shiny".

My heart sank into my shoes I tried to look at my mother for a relief, but she was too busy chatting and finding another cigarillo in her purse.

My shearing then started. Path after path starting from the middle my head I was being shorn like a sheep. I could barely recognize myself. A very tiny stubble was left when the barber lady approached with a hot towel. She started putting it around my head and looked at my mother "his first time" she asked. My mother nodded exhaling her cigar smoke. My mother then asked "will he be shaved too like the other ones" after which the barber lady said "yep, just like the other cue balls. you won’t need to worry about his hair for at least 4 to 6 weeks. My mother took a bigger drag from her cigarillo a bit in shock too but the other lady next to her said "he will get used to it, eventually".

Tom then said I must go up for a bit can you shave him, Margriet (aka grumpy barber woman). Margriet nodded and took of the towel of my head applying a lot of shaving cream. The women next to my mother said "oh my a Margriet shave! She shaves extremely close so you won’t have to worry for at least 8 weeks. "

Magriet started shaving with a razor against the grain of the hair. I would have crawled under a stone of total embarrassment. My head felt bare, and I could feel the breeze of her breathing onto my fresh shaved head. Then she applied again full shaving cream and shaved it a second time. I would have passed out as this was just a nightmare taking place. After the second pass she dried my fully bald head and looked to my mother "eyebrows". I noticed my mother did not hear it and the woman next to her nodded with a smile after which Magriet sheared my eyebrows away. I looked like a freak. Other then my eyes I could not recognize myself anymore.
When I was released from the station I felt like completely naked and walked to my mother who laughed with the other lady at my bald head and my red face of pure humiliation.
They both stood up followed by 3 cue balls. The lady barber collected to money and asked if she should book the three of us for last week of summer vacation just before school start. The lady nodded and my mother apparently also. I was sinking in the ground from utter shame. I had to go to school the next day this would be horrible and if it were not enough I was scheduled for another extra before school start.

The end.

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