At Mr. Lee's - Mr. Miller, Kent and Seth by Manny

---

"Remember, the Burton's number is on the door of the refrigerator, just in case...." Mrs. Sutherland reminded her son as her husband tried to move her out the front door.

"Mavis, he just turned 18 and you're still treating him like he's 8!" Mr. Sutherland chided.

"I'll be fine, Mom," Kent said calmly. "Besides, Seth is spending the weekend with me and his parents are just a few blocks away. Enjoy your romantic get-away!"

"We are going to a Tupperware Convention," Mrs. Sutherland said curtly, whirling around and quickly marching out the front door.

"I thought they would never leave," Seth remarked with a twinkle in his eye.

He looked at Kent -- so handsome with his dark brown hair. It was parted on the side and tumbled over one eye, the ears, and way past the base of the collar. A moptop if there ever was one! And Kent had a ton of body fur. When they would be changing in the locker room before the basketball games, Seth had to force himself not to stare at Kent's hairy legs and plush chest pelt. He didn't want anyone to notice the secret crush he had on Kent.

After his parents left, Kent began unbuttoning his shirt in a very sexy way. He knew exactly what was on Seth's mind.

"Two nights of bliss, Seth! Come here, let's celebrate the start to a wonderful weekend. Your parents at a Tupperware Convention and the two of us in a sexy stay-cation!" Kent began unfastening his belt.

Seth was eager to please Kent. He was game for anything.

Kent began smoothing his friend's amazing golden-blond hair and caressing it softly. Even though Kent had nice hair himself, he envied the sheen and density and natural highlights Seth sported.

"I'm glad your father let you grow your hair out. You were one of the last in the class to let it flow. It's so amazing, long like this," Kent commented still toying with his friends locks.

"Well, I made a deal with my folks. It came down to 'my hair, my business' if I stayed on the honor roll at school. Talk about motivation!" Seth remarked. "With college coming up, they were all concerned about my grades."

"So, that's why you suddenly started studying and acting all nerdy in the library after school," Kent chuckled. "That's okay, I love your hair like this....so groovy! Maybe we should both try center parts in the morning. I heard that's the new 'in' way for guys to wear their hair."

"I had a close call this week. My grandmother is coming for the weekend and both of my parents started dropping hints that I should get a 'proper haircut' before she arrived. She's paying for all my college expenses, wherever I go, so everyone is anxious to please her. But, she can be an old bag -- and she's very old-fashioned. Calls boys with long hair 'an abomination' and stuff like that. When you invited me to stay here....well, that was a solution that satisified my parents and me. I don't have to see her and she doesn't have to see me!"

"What? Granny's afraid her little grandson is a sissy with his longhair?" Kent teased. "Perhaps I should get out my mother's curlers and roll this silken mane. Leave you with some pert curls. I've watched her, and think I could play beauty shop attendant with your hair!'

"Very funny," Seth dead-panned, pulling away from Kent's possessive caress.

Then, Seth continued, "My father wasn't taking any chances. He came home yesterday absolutely scalped! I was shocked. You know, he'd been letting his hair grow out a bit. Fuller on top and over the ears half way, big sideburns and stuff....and then yesterday there he was, sporting the shortest taper around the ears and up the back. The top was taken down to a brush cut. I mean it's like he stepped back into the 1950s!"

"So glad my invitation saved you from whitewalls and a dorky look! Another reason for you to do whatever I want, Seth," Kent cooed. "You might have looked very cute with a little boy haircut. Tapered around the ears....these golden locks falling to the barber's feet....oh, and bangs snipped short, halfway up the forehead in a straight line! Should I drive you over to the Rosslyn Station Barber Shop tomorrow morning?"

"That's where my father went! He said the barber got carried away and cut his hair a whole lot shorter than he asked for. What a nightmare!" Seth remarked. "Poor Dad kept running to the mirror and examining the short brush on top, feeling the taper up the back. Here's my advice....stay away from Mr. Lee if you ever end up at the Rosslyn Station Barber Shop!"

"No barber is going to touch my groovy hair!" Kent exclaimed, smoothing down his moptop.

"Or mine," Seth added, flicking the golden fringe away from his green eyes.

"Hey, how about getting us a few beers out of the fridge? Be a good boy, will you?" Kent said, enjoying Seth in the role of a little servant boy to wait on him.

------

Their first night was true bliss. Heavenly. The boys were still in bed together when a pounding ensued at the front door.

"Seth! Seth?!" a voice boomed.

"It's my father!" Seth said in an alarmed tone. "We have to get up. He can't see us here like this."

"Relax, he won't barge into my house," Kent replied.

Immediately, the boys heard the front door opening. Mr. Miller was in the house!

"Seth? Are you awake?" Mr. Miller shouted from the foyer downstairs.

"Just getting up, Dad. What is it?" Seth called back.

He scrambled to put on some PJs and staggered down the steps. His hair was all over the place, in his face, sticking out. He looked like a scarecrow.

"Oh, my! Look at you! Your grandmother wants to see you. Meaning, we're going to swing by the barber shop. Meaning get dressed right away!" Mr. Miller said with an air of finality in his voice.

Seth knew the tone. Don't answer back....things will only get worse.

He flew back upstairs.

"My father is taking me to the barber shop to get a haircut!" Seth said, his lips quivering.

"That sucks!" Kent replied. "What about your deal with him?"

"From heaven with you last night....straight into the depths of hell with that demon barber, Mr. Lee," Seth whined.

"Do you want me to go with you, for moral support?" Kent asked, feeling very sorry for his friend.

"No, but if you want to enjoy my long hair one last time while I'm getting dressed, perhaps you could brush it for me?" Seth asked.

Kent embraced him and hugged him. Seth whimpered softly, burying his face in the warmth of Kent's furry chest pelt.

"I'm going to go talk sense into your father!" Kent said, suddenly feeling angry about the situation and protective of Seth.

"No....."

But the protest was overruled.

"Mr. Miller," Kent said as he stumbled into the living room, clad only in a pair of shorts. His hair too was totally awry.

"What? Two slumbering young men? I see your hair is as out of control as Seth's. You also could use a decent haircut. Join us. I'll pay. Something short and snappy like mine?" Mr. Miller teased, rubbing the tight taper in back.

"That's awfully short," Kent stammered, transfixed by Mr. Miller's brush cut.

"I'll go along with you, but please don't make Seth cut his hair. He's kept his part of the bargain...." Kent argued.

"He's getting a haircut. End of story. My only question is...are you getting one too?" Mr. Miller snapped.

"No, long hair suits me," Kent sassed back.

Mr. Miller continued to explore his short haircut with his hand. "My mother really liked my brush cut. My idea was that Seth would get one too. We have to keep Grandma Miller in good humor. But, I'm prepared to have the barber keep Seth's hair as long as I think my mother would approve of -- full, but off the collar, ears and eyebrows. No clippers."

"That's better, Mr. Miller," Kent said, glad he'd talked Mr. Miller out of a hideously short haircut for Seth.

"Oh, I meant that he would get the longer cut if the both of you got the same haircut, Kent. Seth might not feel so bad with short hair if his good buddy also had his hair cropped to a respectable length. The way he talks about you constantly at home....one would think...." Mr. Miller said, eyeing Kent curiously.

Kent blushed. His cheeks felt hot.

"Yes, we'll both get the same haircut, sir," Kent said quickly, wanting to change the direction the conversation was heading.

"Wonderful! I'll be back in half an hour. You two need to shower and get your hair under control before you prance into the Rosslyn Station Barber Shop," Mr. Miller said as he left.

Then he called back, "And tell Seth to wear a nice shirt with a collar to see his grandmother!"

"The bad news is that you're still going to the barber shop," Kent said as he entered the bedroom where Seth still lay draped across the bed in a funk.

"Is there good news?" Seth asked.

"The good news is that I'm coming with you, to give you some support," Kent said, sitting on the bed and stroking Seth's hair.

Then, he added, "And, then there's another bit of news -- we're both getting our hair cut short."

"What...?!" Seth stammered, looking up.

"That's right. Short, but not scalped like your father's," Kent added.

"You don't have to do that, Kent," Seth said, blinking tears, touched by what his heart throb was prepared to do for him.

"If he takes you alone, you're getting a brush cut like his!" Kent exclaimed. "Perhaps that is what you want?"

"But what do you have to do with this?" Seth stammered.

"He thinks if we both get shorn, you won't feel as bad...." Kent explained. "Your father cares about you. He's doing what he thinks is necessary to ensure your college is paid for. It's not some sort of power trip. Come on, let's shower together. He'll be back in 25 minutes."

As the water in the shower was getting warmer, Kent stripped his shorts off and examined his hair in the mirror.

"I look like a scarecrow with all this hair," he laughed.

Then Kent felt a woody coming on. "Your father's brush cut....it was sort of sexy! All clipped down with just a bit in front long enough to comb to the side."

Suddenly Kent's woody grew enormously, almost instantly. "I think I want your father's haircut! I want Mr. Lee to unleash the clippers on me!"

"You've got to be kidding," Seth stammered nervously.

Kent pulled Seth into the shower.

"Let's wash this big mop of hair for the last time," he laughed, holding Seth's head under the jet of water.

Then he leaned Seth over....

"Oh, Kent..." Seth squealed.

"Brush cuts for both of us?" Kent demanded.

"Whatever you want...I'm game," Seth offered cheerfully. Kent did not disappoint!

The shower continued with Seth washing Kent's mane of long hair. He enjoyed working up a lather that contrasted starkly between the white soap and the dark brown hair. Seth was sorry that Kent's beautiful hair was going to be cut on his account....but it would be a constant reminder of how much his beau loved him.

"I'm going to miss seeing this when it's been dumped into the trash can at the barber shop," Seth whimpered as he finished rinsing Kent's locks.

Then Kent returned the favor and began to vigorously wash Seth's mane.

"I have a feeling I'm going to like my short haircut," Kent said optimistically. "It's kind of neat everything is turning out this way....all the peer pressure to have long hair. What was I thinking? I mean your father looked so manly with his short crop!"

Once out of the shower, Kent insisted on styling Seth's hair with the blow dryer at his mother's vanity table.

"Center parts! Let's try them," Seth suggested.

Kent enjoyed both drying Seth's hair and then having his own hair dried and styled with a center part. As he watched his pretty boy locks be brushed into place he knew that getting the big chop was the right thing for him. Just thinking about the barber shop made him feel hard.

Both manes looked fantastic freshly washed and dried. Kent looked like David Cassidy and Seth looked like the movie star's brother, Sean.

Then, they heard the car horn honking in the driveway.

"Are you sure about brush cuts for both of us?" Seth asked in a weepy tone.

"If you don't get a grip, I'm going have Mr. Lee administer a flattop on this sissy hair of yours!" Kent laughed, only half-joking.

A look of terror seized poor Seth's face. "You're kidding, I hope," he murmured nervously.

Kent played with the golden hair one last time. "All this falling to Mr. Lee's feet! I'll feel so horny watching the show."

The horn blew again. The boys scrambled and were out in the drive as quickly as they could go.

Kent hopped into the back seat so that he could inspect Mr. Miller's brush cut during the ride to the Rosslyn Station. It was SOOOO short! Especially up the back. The tightly clipped nape was awesome.

"Are you getting used to your short haircut, Mr. Miller?" Kent asked.

The driver instinctively reached up and felt the short, clipped hair. "It wasn't so long ago that I wore my hair short -- not as short as this, but quite short. I have to say, I don't miss the shaggy look. Of course, I got some ridicule at the office, but maybe the other fellows were jealous...."

"I think it's a great look for you, sir," Kent said.

"Well, thank you, Kent. I'm glad you decided to join us for our little excursion to the barber shop. I see you both decided to go with center-parts this morning. Not sure Mr. Lee will approve of them," Mr. Miller laughed.

"I do not want that old man to cut my hair," Seth stated in a sullen voice.

Mr. Miller snapped in irritation, "Seth, you will go to the barber who points at you and says, 'next!' Is that understood? And, if it happens to be Mr. Lee..."

"...then, I will go to his chair," Kent interjected quickly. "He did a great job on your hair sir. And, I don't think it's too short."

"He told me he used a #2 blade for the taper. He said I might have to remind him when I returned for the next haircut," Mr. Miller said. "So, you like it very short? What about you, Goldie Locks?" Mr. Miller kidded his son.

"Don't call me that," Seth hissed.

Suddenly he felt Kent's hand reaching from the back, where his father couldn't see. He was caressing Seth's arm.

"Hey, calm down, Seth," he whispered.

Once they had parked, Seth dawdled trying to delay the inevitable.

But, Kent strode forward quickly to walk with Mr. Miller as they headed toward the subway station's little plaza where the barber shop was located.

"Hey, Mr. Miller, remember I don't have money for this haircut. You're paying, right?" Kent asked.

Mr. Miller tussled the dense, dark hair. "I'd pay $100 to see this mane hit the barber shop floor."

"Do you think Grandma Miller would like it if Seth got a flattop?" Kent asked, feeling hard as he imagined his boyfriend shorn.

"Like it?! She'd probably offer to pay for graduate school too! My father was a military man. He sported a flattop from the time he entered service until his death a few years ago. She'd feel totally honored if Seth came home with a flattop," Mr. Miller said.

"And, if you both came home with flattops?" Kent asked.

"Whoa!" Mr. Miller stammered.

Kent got super hard at the thought watching the barber take Mr. Miller down even shorter -- the careful strokes of the clippers as his brush cut was pared down a super short flat!

Kent made a proposal. "Here's the deal. If Seth gets a flattop, then I want you in the chair right after him? Grandma's purse strings will open wide! Maybe she'll fund a new roof for your house?!"

Mr. Miller felt some tension and excitement at being pressed to go flat. Kent was quite a kid!

Finally, he blurted out, "Deal!" grinning and shaking Kent's hand vigorously.

"Plus, Seth and I will split the $100 you were prepared to cough up," Kent said, pushing the envelope.

Mr. Miller didn't answer, but kept walking.

"Think of you watching all of our long hair falling to the barber shop floor. Me with a brush cut like yours and Seth with a flattop! Surely, that would be worth a Ben Franklin, sir," Kent insisted.

"You are quite a negotiator, Kent. I'd like to hire someone like you to help with my business," Mr. Miller said, putting his arm around the lad's shoulder in a fatherly way.

Mr. Miller reached into his pocket for his wallet. From a secret slot he pulled a folded $100 bill.

"When I see you two shorn tight -- Seth flat as a board -- this will be yours," Mr. Miller said as he picked up the pace.

Kent lagged back to chat privately with Seth whose miserable face communicate dread and resentment.

"Your father is doing what he thinks is in your best interest, Seth," Kent counseled in a concerned way. "And stop being a sissy about getting a haircut! Snap out of it!"

Seth felt ashamed. "You're right....it's going to happen, I should just accept it."

Then Kent threw a total curve ball, "If you asked for a flattop, I won't be able to keep my hands off you the rest of the weekend. You would look so incredibly HOT and so manly!"

"A flattop?!" Seth gasped.

Kent winked at Seth and blew him a kiss. Then he whispered, "Do it, for me?"

Seth watched his friend with his perfect mane of long dark locks march into the barber shop. He was only there to help Seth get through the dreaded haircut. And the talk of ultra-short haircuts did seem to make Kent super horny. There was the rest of the the weekend ahead for them...not to mention the rest of their lives.

Seth ran his fingers threw his silken locks on last time before joining his father and Kent inside the Rosslyn Station Barber Shop.

------

The shop was bustling with activity. All four Korean barbers, clad in their white tunics, slacks and loafers, were at work with clippers roaring. The haircuts being given ranged from short to ultra-short. No hair on any of the four caped men was over an inch long.

"You back already?" Mr. Lee asked Mr. Miller as he waited for the boys to find places in the waiting area. "Want it cut shorter? A flattop, perhaps?"

"Perhaps....but these two fellows are definitely getting haircuts. My son, Seth, and his friend, Kent," Mr. Miller explained.

"Yes, I can see that. They saw dad looking more handsome with short hair and begged him to bring them to Mr. Lee," the barber laughed.

Seth was going to protest, but caught himself. If he was going to get a flattop, it might as well be Mr. Lee. He reached toward his hair and tried to act like he was casually stretching. The locks hung so plush from the nape. He twirled the silken hair around his finger. It would soon be gone....

Kent engaged Mr. Miller in some chatter. Being in the barber shop excited him to no end. "I'm not going to college after graduation. I don't have book smarts, but I have street smarts. And a lot of charm!"

"I'm aware of that, Kent. My wallet is aware of that," Mr. Miller replied, eying the lad. Oh, so much hair was going to fall!

"I'll be looking for a job. What do you say....if you hand me that $100 in your pocket when we walk out of here, how about tacking on a job offer at your company?" Kent asked, eagerly.

"What sort of job?" Mr. Miller replied, open to the idea.

"Whatever you need! I can be your fixer....some fellows not putting in enough effort, I'll resolve that. Someone to man the display booth at the convention? I'll be your man! A scheduler, to make sure you visit Mr. Lee regularly and keep your hair clipped short and tidy?"

"Only if you come with me!" Mr. Miller chuckled.

"Sure, and I can travel with you too. Take care of the airline tickets and hotel reservations...." Kent said.

"I've been thinking about creating a new position....Special Assistant to the Managing Director," Mr. Miller mused. "How would that fancy title suit you?"

"Definitely! Totally!!" Kent gushed.

"Then you better pray Seth there gets a flattop..." Mr. Miller remarked.

"No doubt at all, sir. It's just a matter of time before those golden locks start falling in sheaves to this nice red and white checked linoleum floor," Kent said. "And, don't forget the deal...you'll be next under the cape for a flattop if Seth asks for a flattop. And, I want it short -- with a landing strip!"

Mr. Miller squirmed in his hard waiting chair. "I never agreed to that," he said nervously as he crossed his leg.

"A big wide landing strip down the top of my head...." Mr. Miller murmured to himself and squirmed all the more for saying it out loud.

When the handsome, muscular, young barber called out, "Who's next?" looking at the trio, there was a bit of hesitation. Seth seemed frozen to the chair.

Kent stood up. He examined himself in the mirror one last time before taking a seat in the red upholstery of the barber chair that was facing away from the mirror.

"We don't specialize in long or trendy cuts here. This is a traditional barber shop," the young barber said curtly.

"That's why I'm here," Kent replied firmly. "See that man over there. I want a brush cut just like his."

"A brush cut, I can manage," the barber said.

Instantly, the tissue strip was being secured around Kent's neck, followed by the big white cape. Kent felt exhilarated with the cape in place. Once out of public view, he no longer had to worry people would notice his woody! He let it blossom and flourish as he heard the barber preparing his tools for the big chop.

"The barber used a #2 blade on his taper," Kent told the barber, sounding like a barbershop veteran.

"Is that what you want too? Or perhaps I can taper you to ZERO," the barber replied.

"No, just like Mr. Miller's. I think his hair length is perfect," Kent babbled.

Instantly, Kent's head was pushed down and he could feel the barber lifting the locks at his nape with a comb. Then, the clippers began vibrating on his neck. This was it! Kent gripped the arms of the barber chair and braced for the first assault on his mod look.

The young barber was not going to let the longhaired teen off easily. The clippers were tight to the scalp as they climbed up through the dense dark hair. Immediately, mounds of Kent's hair began falling to the barber's feet. One massive clump almost covered his right shoe completely.

"Timber," Mr. Miller called softly from the waiting area as he watched the young neighbor's hair begin to fall. That fellow Kent had a future, he thought to himself.

The massive forelock hung totally over his face as the barber clipped the back, leaving Kent in the semi-dark to imagine what was happening to him, not seeing any action.

He followed the progress of the clippers in his mind. Higher and HIGHER. Shorter and SHORTER.

More and MORE of his brown hair covered the red and white linoleum floor.

"How's it looking?" Kent asked the barber.

"Short! Very short!" the barber replied, as if to taunt the lad. "That's what you wanted, right?"

"Keep cutting," Kent urged. "I'm leaving this place a new man."

"People may not recognize you without all this girly hair," the barber laughed.

The barber moved to the side. He clipped up, behind the ear, and flicked the mass of shorn hair forward. For the first time, Kent's cut locks began collecting on his shoulder and sliding down the cape into his lap.

"Wow, that is a lot coming off," Kent said, nervously.

"Shoot, you should see what's on the floor. Take a look!" the barber said.

He paused the haircut and Kent peered over the side. His hair was like a throw rug around the barber chair.

"Let's make it easier for you to see," the barber suggested.

He combed Kent's forelock straight down. It dangled down around his lips.

Then, a pair of sharp shears were employed. The barber raised them high on the forehead, right near the top.

SNIP, SNIP, SNIP. Seven-inch locks fell into Kent's lap.

"Holy cow!" Kent gasped.

He noticed Seth looking white as a ghost in the waiting area.

"How am I looking, Seth?" Kent asked.

Seth rolled his eyes, finding any sort of answer impossible.

"You're looking like a man. A handsome, cleancut man," Mr. Miller said from his chair in the waiting room.

The young barber shifted into a quick-paced clipper-over-comb mode and started taking off the bulk from the top of Kent's head. The amount of hair falling per second doubled. The cape was totally covered with soft, brown cut hair.

"Are you leaving anything up there?" Kent asked nervously.

"Not much," the barber replied.

Kent gripped the arms of the chair. "Good!" he said, defiantly.

Finally, Seth mustered up a comment, "You look like you're in the army, Kent!"

"And you're next, friend!" Kent replied.

Just then, Mr. Lee's firm voice came as an echo. "NEXT!" He was pointing straight at Seth!

Seth stood. His legs felt like jelly. Every ounce of energy he had was employed to make the trip to Mr. Lee's chair. He couldn't resist one last look at the "old" him -- the squeaky clean, shiny blond hair....so perfect with its center part. He mounted the chair as if he were preparing for the guillotine. His head would be kept, but not his pretty hair.

Mr. Lee was quick with the tissue strip and cape.

The difference between the two was clearly evident. Mr. Lee pumped up and energized to have such a mop to chop, and Seth struggled just to stay seated upright, not slumping.

"You need short haircut," was Mr. Lee's verdict. He yanked a comb through the locks as a type of punishment. "Like your father's haircut?"

Seth's voice felt dry. The only thing that helped him spit out the words was Kent's request....and the emotive plea, "For me....."

"No, I would like a flattop," Seth said.

Mr. Miller beamed in the waiting room. But, when he remembered he would be next in the chair, his fidgeting and squirming resumed.

"Short, military flattop with landing strip?" Mr. Lee asked hopefully.

"No, keep it as long on top as possible," Seth said.

"But sides clipped to the skin," Mr. Lee stated.

"I guess so," muttered Seth.

But Mr. Lee's public humiliation of Seth was not over yet. "Why boys want to look like girls with hair like this, I don't understand!" It was in a voice intended for everyone in the shop to hear. The other two older barbers laughed on cue.

Mr. Lee's grasped a prime tress, scissored it off to an inch in length, and tossed it onto Seth's lap. Then another, and another. Seth sat feeling almost numb as all the flow was butchered. Mr. Lee hummed as he worked. The barber purposely dropped the cut locks into Seth's lap so that he could see how much hair he was losing.

Just as Mr. Lee was switching gears and reaching for the clippers, Kent's haircut was coming to an end.

"Ready to see the new you?" the young barber asked Kent.

"Can't wait," Kent replied.

"You look SO much better," Mr. Miller piped in from the waiting area.

The chair slowly turned toward the mirror.

Kent could not contain a gasp as he saw himself in the reflection. "Holy smokes! Aghhhh, I'm almost bald!" he blurted out.

"You want bald? I can give you bald," the young barber said pointing to the balding clippers that were hanging from the counter. "Those will take you down to the skin!"

Kent reached out from under the cape and felt his bristles. He was still in shock at how he looked. For all his excitement and enthusiasm heading into the haircut, he now was plunging quickly into a total regret cycle about the new look.

"I suppose it will grow," Kent managed to say as he rubbed the clipped nape.

"VERY slowly," the barber quipped in a dramatically sad voice.

"Cheer up kid, you look a thousand times better without all that fluffy hair. That's where long hair belongs," the young barber said as he pointed to the floor. The mounds of dark hair were frightfully large and contrasted with the white loafers the barber wore.

"Let me see the back," Kent said.

The barber held up the mirror in silence.

"It seems a lot shorter than Mr. Miller's haircut," Kent pouted.

"Yep, I decided a #1 blade would be a better length for you. If you're not satisfied, there's no need to pay," the barber said curtly. "Can't re-attach the cut hair."

The barber unfastened the cape and let Kent get up. The lad could not stop feeling his shorn head.

"Mr. Miller, you're next here!" Kent called out, deciding to focus on the next victim.

"I want you to show me how short those balding clippers cut on Mr. Miller," Kent told the barber.

"He's getting a high 'n tight?" the barber asked.

"Yep, with an emphasis on TIGHT!" Kent laughed.

Then Kent turned his attention to Mr. Miller, "Come on, sir, don't dawdle. A deal is a deal!"

"I said I would get a flattop," Mr. Miller said defensively, looking at himself in the mirror as he approached the chair. "I didn't say I would get a high 'n tight. People at the office will think I lost my marbles if I come back on Monday scalped."

Mr. Miller took a seat. "Got that?" he asked the barber. "A very long, plush flattop. Like my son is getting from Mr. Lee."

"I'll leave it as long as I can," the barber said skeptically, "but it's going to be SHORT, very short!"

Mr. Miller gulped. He had no choice in the matter, it seemed.

He took off his aviator-framed glasses with tinted lenses. They were part of the drive to update his look, replacing the big black plastic frames he'd worn before. They didn't seem to match the brush cut and certainly would be a mis-match with a flattop. He could always revive his old specs, he thought to himself.

Kent sat semi-sulking in the waiting area. That little sermonette he had given to Seth on the way in...well, it was time he started practicing what he preached.

Seth's haircut was coming to an end. The plush top was amazing!

Kent felt a bit envious. He should have gotten a flattop too. And the young barber, scalping him with a #1 -- it didn't seem right or fair.

As Mr. Miller was getting caped, Seth's chair was being swiveled to face the mirror.

He gripped the arms of the chair to brace himself for what he saw. He didn't want to let out a yelp of anguish like Kent had done. In fact, Seth was determined to say something upbeat regarding his new look.

When he saw himself with a flattop, Seth said, "Wow! That's a great haircut! It's just perfect."

Mr. Lee beamed. "I thought so myself. You have such nice hair for a flattop. Very dense and the right amount of body. I left it quite tall, so you will have to come more often to keep it looking perfect."

The irony was the Seth actually liked the flattop a lot more than he thought he would.

"Show me the back," he urged the barber. Old Mr. Lee was excellent at his tradecraft, Seth concluded.

Seth was so anxious to feel his haircut. The short stubble at the back and sides and the velvet-like deep pile on top. It was the first thing he did when the cape came off. A huge smile overwhelmed his face.

"What do you think, Kent?" he asked, fondling the top playfully and beaming.

"Nice, looks good on you," Kent said. Despite the upbeat response, his tone was sour.

"Oh, my! Your hair is incredibly short," Seth remarked.

He impulsively reached down and rubbed the bristles vigorously.

"Hey!" Kent protested.

Meanwhile, Mr. Miller's brush cut was being taken down into a very short, military-length flattop....landing strip and all!

When the clippers grazed the top of his head, Mr. Miller yelped, "Hey, just a normal flattop."

"Ooooooops, sorry. You didn't want a landing strip?" the young barber said, conjuring up a half-ass apology.

The balding clippers had already skinned the sides and back. Mr. Miller was going to leave looking very SHORN!

When Mr. Miller was finally shown his new look, he was beside himself. "It's so short!" he whined. Under the cape, he was as hard as a rock!

"You got your money's worth," the young barber said flippantly. "It's a very precise, exact cut."

"And very, VERY short!" Mr. Miller added.

"If you're not satisfied, there's no need to pay," the barber said curtly.

"That's quite all right. I'll be paying for three haircuts. Just get this cape off me. Next time, I'm sticking with Mr. Lee," Mr. Miller said in a snippy tone.

The three left the barbershop feeling their clipped pates. Seth gloated over his plush, deep pile flattop while Mr. Miller and Kent chafed that the young barber had scalped them.

Heading home, Seth babbled away about how short haircuts were not so bad after all.

But, he pushed Kent a bit too far, referring to his "little pea-head."

"So, now that you are overjoyed with military lengths, I suppose you'll finally tell your parents the news you've been hiding from them," Kent said with an edge in his voice.

"What news?" Mr. Miller demanded.

"That, based on his grades, the guidance counselor had recommended Seth to the Senator's office for an appointment to West Point. And, he got accepted -- a free college education!" Kent said, spilling the beans. "But pretty boy didn't want his hair shaved off and so...."

"What, his precious hair kept him from the chance of a lifetime?" Mr. Miller snapped, almost running a red light in the process.

"It was ironic," Seth muttered, half-ashamed of himself. "I got good grades to keep my hair long and they would send me to boot camp!"

"Well, I'll be!" his father exclaimed, still trying to digest the news. "I'm proud of you son! That's quite an accomplishment."

Seth pulled down the visor and examined his plush top in the mirror.

"It wouldn't be too much hair to lose...." he murmured. "Should I go to West Point?"

"Definitely! And I'll ask Grandma Miller to give you the money for a new sports car -- a souped-up Camaro! -- since your tuition will be covered by the army," his father said, delighted with the turn of events.

Then Mr. Miller looked back at Kent. "And you, when can you start as Special Assistant to the Managing Director? There are a couple of longhairs putting in sloppy work who need to clean up their act..."

"Monday, sir! Part time until I graduate. And then I'll be your loyal aide-de-camp....doing whatever you need!" Kent said, rubbing his hand for the umpteenth time over his bristled pate.

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