Mrs. Amy's Choice by pulp.fiction

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"It's summertime now, Axel. Don't you think it's time for a haircut?" I heard my mom say from the kitchen.

"I guess, mom," I replied. "When do you want to go?"

"Well I'm glad you said yes, because I booked a haircut in 20 minutes. Get ready to go."

I got my shoes on and walked into the garage to get in the car. As we pulled out of the driveway, I looked at my hair in the side mirror. Maybe I could use a haircut, I thought to myself. My hair wasn't to short, like a lot of boys had in the summer. It was longer on top, in my face a little, and flowed to the sides and the back from the top. A bit of a mix of long and short. After a short drive, we pulled into the parking lot.

"Let's go," my mom said as she got into that car. We walked inside and sat in the waiting areas, with about 3 minutes until it was my turn to go.

My mom noticed one of her friends in the shop waiting areas, and began making conversation.
"Hi Amy, how are you?"

"Cassie, it's nice to see you here! Taking Axel in for a nice, short, summer cut?"

"Well, I don't know about short," My mom replied, "But he does need some of that length to come off," she said as she looked at me.

"Tell me about it. Mike is up in the barber chair getting it all shaved off. We made the mistake of letting him grow his hair out this year."

"I've made that mistake for a while," My mom chuckled, much to my distaste.

"Nothing's stopping you from getting him a real haircut," Mrs. Amy replied. "You gotta show these kids you're in charge. I'm keeping Mike's head shaved for the next few years until he's off to college."

My mom shrugged. "Maybe you're right." She leaned back into her chair for a few seconds before standing up. "I have to use the restroom, I'll be right back." My mom walked off to the restroom in the back of the barber shop.

As soon as she disappeared from my line of vision, I heard the barberette say "Next!"

I looked around to see if anyone else was in line, but the only people sitting in the waiting area were Mrs. Amy and I. I sheepishly walked up to her and sat in the chair, but before I could say what I wanted, I heard Mrs. Amy's voice behind me.

"I'll be taking care of his haircut today."

The barberette nodded. "What is he getting?" She asked.

Mrs. Amy thought for a minute. "Give him a good summer haircut. A short buzzcut, zero all over."

"Wait, that's not..."
But before I could finish, the barberette ran the clippers straight through the middle of my head. She finished the top and moved to the back, quickly shaving off all the hair on my head. Then she moved to the sides. I saw all my hair on the floor. When I looked in the mirror, my head was completely buzzed down to nothing but stubble. Before I could get up, Mrs. Amy walked over again.

"Is that good enough?" The barberette asked, "Or do you want it shorter?"

How much shorter could this be, I thought. I'm already buzzed to a zero.

"It's not short enough." I heard Mrs. Amy say. "Shave him to the skin, I want to see him with a Smooth Bald Head."

"Yes, Ma'am." The barberette answered as she walked into the back, coming out with shaving cream and a razor. She lathered up my head, and then took not just one, but three passes over my head with the razor. When I looked in the Mirror again, My head was shaved bald. The shop lights reflected off my head.
"There he is." The barberette signaled Mrs. Amy. "A proper cueball!" She said as she burst into laughter.

Mrs. Amy rubbed my bald head. "Your mother will like this. I'll make sure you keep your clean shaved head." I was so shocked, I didn't know what to think. However, I was mad that Mrs. Amy had done this without asking me first. Right then, My mom came out of the bathroom. She looked at me for a second, and then walked over and rubbed my head.

"Wow Amy, it looks great." I couldn't believe my mom was ok with this.

"Mom, she didn't even let me talk!"

"Be quiet, Axel." Mrs. Amy said sternly. Then she looked at my mom again. "He has a proper boys haircut now. I already booked him in 3 months."

"3 months! I won't have to worry about it for that long!" My mom said happily.

"I know, right," Mrs. Amy laughed. "I made sure they shaved very close. He'll have a bald head for a while." Mrs. Amy and my Mom laughed at my Smooth Bald head while they talked about how they would keep their sons shaved bald for as long as they could.

My mom looked at me as we left the shop. "Hey, Cueball!" She laughed at me. "You'll be keeping your head shaved bald for the rest of your life," She said as she rubbed my bald head.

I could only imagine the embarassement when I went back to school in the fall, but maybe having a shaved bald head wasn't so bad.



THE END

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