I'll Do It! by Shant

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Shortly after Todd got home from work his phone rang. The caller ID said that it was his friend, Patrick, so he immediately picked up.

"It’s good to hear from you," Todd said. "It’s been awhile since we’ve talked. What’s been going on with you?"

"I was calling to see if you had some free time this evening?" Patrick said. "I think I have some really good news for you and I hoped it would be okay if I dropped by to tell you about it."

"Sure, I’m not doing anything. I could definitely use some good news and some company. Come on over."

Patrick showed up a little later. After they got settled in, Todd asked him what was the good news that he had?

"You know my friend, Walter, who is a waiter at Indigo. He told me that one of the waiters was leaving and that the owner would be looking for a replacement."

"I told him how unhappy you are at the restaurant where you are working and he suggested that you don’t waste any time and bring your resume and references and immediately go and introduce yourself to Larry, the owner."

"Walter said he would also put in a good word for you, and with all your experience, he thinks Larry would probably hire you on the spot."

"Man, that would be fantastic! That restaurant has a reputation as one of the best restaurants in the city. I’ve heard that you have to make a reservation weeks in advance if you want to go there."

"It’s also one of the most expensive restaurants there is. I bet the waiters there make a lot more money than at the place where I’m now working."

"Walter told me that the waiters usually make between $200 - $300 a night. It’s easy to see why so few waiters ever leave there," Patrick said. "Don’t put this off if you’re interested. If I were you, I would go tomorrow."

Todd thought to himself how great it would be to work in such a fine restaurant and make so much more money than he now did. If these guys were working five nights a week, they were making between $1000 - $1500 a week. To make that much money waiting tables was unreal. That was more than double what he was now making.

"Thanks for thinking of me, Patrick. If I actually get hired, it will make such a big difference in my life. As it is right now, I’m barely scraping by."

That night after Patrick left, Todd pulled up his resume and his references. He was definitely going to go to Indigo first thing tomorrow and hopefully meet the owner.

The next morning, Todd showered and shaved, all the while thinking what a great day this might be. He realized he shouldn’t get his hopes up too high, but he actually thought he might have a good chance of getting hired because he did have a lot of experience and had great references from previous people he had worked for.

He began to work on his hair. Todd had a love affair with his hair. Every hair had to be perfectly in place. He knew he needed to look the best he could.

Todd’s parents were born in India, but shortly after they married, they moved to the U.S. hoping to build a better life for themselves and the family they hoped they would have.

Todd was born here, in America. Like almost everyone in India, he had extremely thick, straight, black hair. He loved his hair so much and had never had a short haircut in his entire life. Right now he brushed all his hair on the sides and the top straight up and back with no part at all.

The hair starting at his temples was probably about six inches long and he swept that back above his ears. The hair behind his ears was shorter, probably three to four inches long and hung below his collar. The top and sides all met in the back. His hair was so thick and it really showed off how awesome his hair was.

The top, however, was his crowning glory. It was over ten inches long and when he brushed it straight up and back, it hung about three inches past his crown. It stood up about four inches high on top. His hair had such great body that once he combed it, it stayed perfectly in place.

He received a lot of compliments about how beautiful his hair was. He was so thankful he had such great hair. He knew he was vain about his hair, but he knew not to brag, and no one ever knew how much he loved his hair.

About 10:00 in the morning Todd walked into Indigo. He asked the person at the front desk if he could make an appointment to see the owner.

"I don’t think that will be too difficult, seeing that you are talking to him right now. My name is Larry. Why did you want to see me?"

Todd explained how he had heard that the owner might be hiring a new waiter. He also mentioned that he knew Walter.

He showed Larry his resume and his references. He had been waiting tables for ten years and had been the head waiter at two restaurants. All his former employees wrote that any restaurant owner would be lucky to have him as a waiter.

"Well, you certainly have excellent credentials," Larry said. "Come on in back and we can talk about this some more. I am definitely going to be hiring a new waiter to replace a guy that is leaving and if we can come to an agreement about a couple of things, I think you have a great chance of being hired."

"It says here that you have worked as a waiter for ten years. Sounds a lot like me. For as long as I can remember, I always knew that I wanted to own my own restaurant."

"My dad was a chef at a great restaurant here in town and I started working in the kitchen as a sou chef, and then started waiting tables as soon as I was old enough."

"I set a goal for myself that I was going to open a restaurant by the time I was 30. When I graduated from high school, I saw no reason to go to a four year university. I already had five years of experience in the restaurant business thanks to my dad. Going to college would only end up with me having student loans and would make it take longer for me to reach my goal."

"My uncle is a barber and he encouraged me to go to barber school. He told me that within a year I would have my license and I could then work at his shop. This would also allow me to continue waiting tables at night."

"It made good sense. I was 17 when I graduated from high school, so before I was 19, I already had my barber license and had started making money."

"I worked five days a week cutting hair and waited tables four nights a week where my dad worked. Life was pretty hectic. I didn’t have a lot of free time, but I knew it would be worth it. I scrimped and saved every penny I could and opened my restaurant six months before I turned 30."

"I also had a lot of time to think about the kind of restaurant I wanted to have. I started making sketches of how I wanted the restaurant to look. I had so many lists of all the things I wanted to include. I had everything down to the finest detail to create the look I wanted."

"I didn’t want my restaurant to be just any place where you ran out for a quick meal. I wanted my customers to experience what fine dining really was. I wanted them to feel they were surrounded in an elegant atmosphere and enjoy having great food and great service."

"Early on in my planning, I decided I wanted my waiters to appear like a well running unit. I wanted them to look like they were all working together, making certain that the customer was satisfied."

"I knew that I wanted my waiters to look different compared to any other restaurant. I came up with the idea that everyone would be dressed the same, but would wear different outfits each night. I bought each waiter five long sleeve button down shirts in solid colors and two pair of black slacks."

"Each night of the week the waiters wear the same color shirt, making them look like they are one team. They wear a different color shirt every night. It was a subtle thing, but people did notice it, and commented on how sharp it looked."

"I know it’s sexist, but I only have male waiters. I know it’s not politically correct, but I also only hire good looking guys. I think people enjoy being served by handsome men. If I do say so myself, I’ve got a really great looking group working for me. They all look professional and sophisticated."

"You’ve got a really great looking head of hair there," Larry said. "Unfortunately it would make you stand out from all the other waiters, instead of looking like you blended in, and were a part of the team."

"Everyone has a sharp, trendy looking haircut, but no one has hair that is anywhere near as long as yours. I would not want one waiter to stand out from all the others. I know it’s an unusual request, but if you’re willing to get your hair cut similar to the other waiters, the job is yours."

Todd thought to himself, "I love my hair and I have never thought of cutting it short, but doing the math last night made me realize that I can not pass up the chance to work at this restaurant. I really dread cutting my hair but doubling my income would make life so much easier."

"I totally understand the look you want your staff to have. I really want to work at your restaurant. I haven’t had my hair short in years, but this is just too good an opportunity to pass up, so sure, I’ll cut my hair however you want," Todd said.

He couldn’t believe that he had just committed to get his wonderful hair cut and he didn’t even know how it was going to be cut. He wondered what kind of haircut Larry had in mind?

"That’s great. You now work at Indigo. I think you’re really going to fit in with all the guys. We’ll have you start on Monday, which is a little slower day, to let you get comfortable with how the restaurant operates."

"Give me your shirt and pant sizes and I’ll have your clothes for you by the end of the week. You can come in and get them on either Friday or Saturday and get a schedule as to what color shirt is worn each day."

"As for your haircut, we can take care of that right now."

"What, what do you mean?" Todd said.

"Remember, I told you that I had been a barber for ten years? I cut all my waiters hair for them for free. Like clockwork, they come in every four weeks to get cleaned up so that they are always looking sharp. Come on in back where I have my barbershop and we’ll get you all fixed up."

Things were happening really fast, and before Todd knew it, he was sitting in a barber chair. He knew there was no backing out now, and he was freaking out wondering what was going to happen.

Todd thought to himself, "I can’t believe how today started out like any other day and now I’m sitting in a barber chair and I’m going to get most of my hair cut off. This was something I certainly never expected! I can’t believe this is happening. I love my hair so much. The thought of ever cutting it short has never even entered my mind. I’d be a fool not to do this though."

As Larry was caping him up, Larry thought to himself, "I would have hired this guy even if his resume was nowhere near as good as it is, just so that I could cut his hair. His hair is unreal. It’s really beautiful. It’s probably the thickest hair I have ever seen. It’s going to be unbelievable getting to cut it!"

"I haven’t cut anyone with hair this long in a very long time and so much of it is going to be coming off! This is going to be intense. I’m going to have a fantastic time giving this guy a haircut and I know exactly how I am going to cut it!"

Larry took a comb and combed all Todd’s hair perfectly into place. "Your hair is awesome!" Larry said. "You’d look great no matter how you cut your hair. Don’t you worry, I’ll give you a really sharp looking haircut that will blend in with all the other waiters."

Larry then picked up his scissors. He started at Todd’s right temple and lifted up the six inch locks and cut off about four inches. Larry seemed like a man possessed. Lift and cut, lift and cut, it was like he was a machine operating in high gear.

Todd’s hair was being cut so fast. He had never had anyone cut his hair like this before. Mounds of hair were falling onto his shoulders and into his lap.

Larry was having the time of his life and was so stoked. In a matter of minutes, all the bulk of Todd’s hair on the sides and back had been cut down, but there was still a lot more to come off.

Larry then traded his scissors and comb for his clippers. He put a #2 guard on them. Todd saw him reach for the clippers and thought he was going to have a panic attack. He had never had clippers used on his hair in his entire life!

Instead of using a comb, Larry took his hand and grasped the hair that was still on the sides and held it up and back towards the top. He then placed his hand firmly on top of Todd’s head and buzzed off all his hair around the sides and back up to where he was holding it. Todd’s hair was now buzzed down to almost stubble and was about two inches above the top of his ears.

When Larry removed his hand from the top of Todd’s head, a lock of hair in front fell forward and was now hanging down past his nose. If Todd reached out, he could put the end of it in his mouth.

Larry thought how beautiful that thick lock of long black hair looked dangling in Todd’s face. God, this guy’s hair was awesome!

Larry didn’t comb the lock back into place, he liked seeing it hanging down, and left it there as he continued the haircut. Looking at that beautiful lock stoked him even more to tackle the top.

If Todd thought Larry had worked fast with the scissors, it was nothing compared to how fast he worked with the clippers. He couldn’t believe how short his hair was starting to look on the sides and back. He just kept telling himself, "Just relax, this is going to be worth it."

"There, that takes care of the sides for you. Now I’ll start work on that top of yours. It really is a gorgeous mane that you have."

Todd’s hair on top had not been touched yet and it still hung down past his crown. All his hair on top was about the same length as it had been, slightly over ten inches.

Todd couldn’t believe how unreal it looked seeing all his long hair on top still brushed back the way it always was, but now with the sides buzzed down to bristle two inches above his ears.

Larry then took the guard off the clippers. He took his comb and starting at the back, lifted up all the long hair that was hanging past the crown and buzzed off about eight inches. He worked from left to right, buzzing all the long hair that was on the back and sides down to about two inches long. The pile of hair in Todd’s lap was enormous and the very top still had not been cut.

Todd’s hair was so thick and had such great body that all the long hair that had been brushed back, after being cut, now sprang straight out like a brush.

Larry thought how great it would be to give Todd a flattop, but figured that might be a little too extreme the first time he cut his hair. "Maybe sometime down the road I’ll be able to convince him to let me give him one. Once he’s gotten used to having short hair, I bet I can talk him into it," Larry thought.

Most barbers if they were cutting off so much long hair on top would either start at the front or the back to cut it down. Instead, Larry took his comb and lifted up his hair on the top at the back left side, combed a section straight up, and buzzed off about seven inches.

He worked from the sides in back towards the middle and lifted up each section and buzzed it off until he reached the center. He then proceeded to do the same thing on the right side. From about the middle of Todd’s head, the hair in front was still untouched, but the back had been cut down to a little over two inches.

Larry then worked towards the front, lifting up the hair on the sides and buzzing it off as he went forward.

There was so much hair coming off the top. Larry made certain that all Todd’s beautiful tresses fell onto his lap. He knew that Todd must be really freaking out seeing how he was cutting his hair.

When he got to the very front, he lifted those ten inches of gorgeous hair straight up and buzzed off seven inches like he had done all the rest of the top.

He combed it up and to the center and just buzzed off so much awesome hair. Todd’s entire hair on top was now under three inches.

"All that’s left to do is blend the top into the sides and we’ll be done. I know it’s got to be a rush for you seeing as how you now look so different."

Larry then spent a great deal of time blending everything in together. When he finished, Todd’s hair in front was a little over two inches long. It stood straight up and when Larry brushed it all back, it stayed perfectly in place. The sides were about one and a half inches long and were long enough to just brush back.

"Well, that’s it!" Larry said. "What do you think of your new look? I know it must be wild seeing what a big change it is, but I think you look great, and you’re now going to fit in with all the other guys."

Todd was almost speechless. He couldn’t believe all that had happened today. He barely recognized himself. He thought the haircut actually looked pretty good, but it was such a shock.

He was glad his hair was so thick that it stood up so well. He couldn’t wait to meet the other waiters and see how his hair looked compared to theirs.

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