Growing up - Part 1 by buzztob

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GROWING UP - PART 1
by
buzztob


My childhood was a very regimented affair, controlled by my military father. Don’t get me wrong, he was a great guy, and I really admired him. He was well respected both in the local community and by his work colleagues. It was just that he did not know how to switch off when work was finished. Everything was the same day in day out; out of bed by 0600 hours, washed by 0630 hours, breakfast, prepared by my wonderful mom, by 0700 hours, in the car by 0745 hours, dropped off at school by 0815 hours. Dad then went off to work and I had to run the gauntlet every day. The verbal abuse was a constant occurrence and it all centred on my short hair.

It was a major issue that I had with my dad, but he was very strict that my hair was to remain short whilst I remained under his roof and he didn’t care what the other scruffy lads in the area looked like. Every Sunday morning at 0815 hours, I was expected to be waiting at the back of the garage where dad has set up his very own barbershop. He had bought an assortment of equipment and had even managed to acquire on old red leather barbershop chair, which he was really proud of â€" he would be in there most nights either sitting in the chair reading or cutting the hair of some of his work mates. Dad only knew how to cut hair one-way, SHORT, the shorter the better as far as he was concerned. All of his friends enjoyed the regular get-togethers when the general conversation would revolve around work and how things were starting to slip and about the new young officers’ who didn’t know anything about discipline and the good old days. After a few beers they would all get a haircut, courtesy of my dad. My hair was cut the same every week, #2 all over with a short tapered neck. I came to hate Sunday mornings and no matter how much I pleaded just for a little to be left on the top so I could use a comb, he would take great delight in starting at the front of my head and running the clippers over my scalp. He even hinted that soon I would be able to have a real haircut and he would take great delight in using his straight razor to finish it off, whatever that meant.

The majority of my classmates supported modern trendy haircuts; others had it pulled back in a pony-tail style to keep it tidy whilst they were at school. There were four lads who always had a go at me and kept flicking the back of my head with their books. I thought of taking them on but four to one was not very good odds. I used to keep a close watch, hoping to find one of them on their own, but during school time, they were always together. I never had a chance to catch them after school as dad was always there, waiting to take me home. He kept on saying how fortunate I was to be going to such a good school and not the local rough high school just around the corner from where we lived. He was not very keen that I had made friends with two guys from that rough school, who lived just a few doors away. Pete and Steve were twins who lived with their mother. I really liked being with the twins, they were allowed to do whatever they wanted. Their mother was too busy entertaining her boyfriend to be bothered with them, after all they were fifteen and should be able to look after themselves. When I was allowed out, I had to be at home by 1930 hours otherwise dad would be waiting for me.

When I was with the twins, we talked about all sorts of things. I would tell them of my problems at school with the four bullies, about how I hated Sundays as it meant losing my hair. They were fascinated that my dad actually cut my hair every week. They had not had a proper haircut for nearly 12 months. The twins trimmed each other’s hair and just kept chopping bits off when it got in the way. They wanted to know if they could see dad’s barbershop. I told them that he would not be very happy with me if I took them over. However, they wanted to see the set up and after a lot of pleading, I told them that we could go over, but we would have to be quiet. We went over the back fence way so hopefully dad would not see us enter the back of the garage. I managed to shut the door quietly and turned on the light. The twins were laughing at the site of the chair and all of the equipment laid out. Steve jumped in the chair and started swinging around. Pete grabbed the cape and wrapped it around Steve who just started laughing, Pete grabbed the clippers and asked Steve ‘what would you like today?’ we all burst out laughing and didn’t hear dad come into the garage until the voice behind us boomed out that he didn’t know he had new customers. The laughing stopped, we spun around to see dad locking the door and putting the key into his pocket. His next words were uttered between clenched teeth â€" SIT! Pete and I sunk into the chairs arranged against the back wall, Steve was in the process of getting out of the barbers chair, but dad told him to stay where he was. So we wanted to have some fun, we all mumbled that it was just a game and we didn’t mean no harm. At that dad smiled and said that he understood, but now that Pete and Steve were here, he guessed that they could do with a little trim as their hair was a real mess. The twins looked at each other and were unsure, but dad said that a little trim wouldn’t hurt! It was the way dad looked at them that made them submit into agreeing to have a trim.

Dad was smiling now and said that it would be nice to get to know my friends as he had never really met them. It all seemed to be going really well, much to my relief as I thought that I was really in trouble with dad for coming into his domain. Dad adjusted the cape on Steve and started to comb out his hair. It was jet black and hung over his ears and well onto his collar. Dad asked why they had let their hair get into such a state. All Steve could say was that he liked to be in fashion and this was the latest style. Dad nodded his head and asked them what they intended to do after leaving school. Steve shrugged his shoulders and didn’t know what he was going to do. Dad said that the Army was recruiting and it was a good life, plenty of travel and that the pay was good. Both Steve and Pete said that they had thought about it as there was nothing for them around here. I was a bit surprised, as they had not mentioned this before. Well, they had played into dad’s hands. How about that he gave them a few pointers, which would make their attempt to join that much easier? They both agreed and started to relax. Pete said to me that maybe my dad was not as bad as I had made him out to be. That opinion would change!

Dad took up the clippers and put on a large attachment, switched them on and said that he would give a rough cut first as there was so much hair to remove. He started to remove the hair around the ear, up the back and off the other ear. Pete said to Steve that it looked good and Steve sank further back into the chair feeling relaxed as not much hair had fallen onto the cape. Dad then went back to his bench and took off the attachment. Pete started to chat to me and didn’t see what dad was doing next. There was no attachment on the clippers and he had positioned himself between Pete and Steve so no-one saw him press the clippers against Steve’s neck and run it straight up the back, not stopping at the crown, but continued to the front of his head. A huge pile of hair fell into his lap. Steve was about to say something, but dad told him to shut up and take it like a man. Pete looked over and his mouth dropped. Where there had once been a mass of thick black hair, there was now just a strip of short stubble. All dad said, was that it was too late and went back to ramming the clippers over Steve’s head. In the end, Steve’s hair was even shorter than mine. I thought that dad had finished as he started to use his brush to remove the long hair that had just been clipped off. Steve was in the process of getting out of the chair when dad placed his hand on his shoulder and said that he was not finished. There was no hair left for him to cut so I was puzzled what he was going to do next. The answer came quickly. From inside the cabinet at the side of his bench, dad removed a can of shaving foam and a straight edge razor. He said that he would just clean it up a little. He took the razor, opened it up and began to use the leather strop at the side to put an edge on the blade. He then squirted a large amount of foam into his hand and began to lather up the sides and back of Steve’s head. Both Pete and I sat there with our mouths open. Dad placed the razor high up on Steve’s head and started to shave off the hair on the back of his head and then moved to the side of the head, removed the lather there, went to the other side, and did the same. All we could see was white skin all around the sides of his head. The little bit of hair left on the top was short, but now with everything removed around the back and sides, it looked quite long. Dad then placed more shaving foam on Steve’s head and went from the base of his neck up to the top and did the same on the sides. Steve’s head was now starting to go a bit red. Dad picked up a towel and wiped around Steve’s head, removing bits of lather that remained. He then took a small bottle, splashed some liquid on his hands and slapped them onto Steve’s head. Steve let out a yell, but my dad said ‘take it like a man if you want to be in the Army’. When dad was satisfied, he took the cape off Steve and looked straight a Pete and said NEXT!

Pete got to his feet and slowly walked the short space to the chair. His gaze met with Steve’s, who was rubbing his hand across the side and back of his head. It looked really strange not to see any hair. Pete sat down in the chair. Dad wrapped the cape around him, picked up the clippers and in no time had reduced Pete’s thick black hair to short stubble. Dad was in his element and had a big broad smile on his face. Once again, he lathered up Pete’s head and shaved the sides and back clean. The cape was quickly removed from around Pete and we all just looked on the floor and saw a huge pile of hair that had recently been the pride and joy of the twins. The three of us got up to leave and were heading towards the door when I heard dad say to me that I didn’t think that I was getting away so lightly. He told me to get in the chair. Pete and Steve turned around and looked at me. I shrugged my shoulders and thought that I would be in for same as the other two. The twins sat back down as dad was putting the cape around me. He then reached back into his cabinet and took out another blade for the Oster clippers. I had never seen it before and dad had never used it on me so I just thought that it must be new. Dad said that this blade was his pride and joy and that he saved it for special occasions like when they had an important inspection on at the base. He proudly announced that it was a #00000 blade and in honour of this occasion I would be given a haircut worthy of breaking into his ‘special place’. With that, he placed the clippers at the front of my head, switched them on, and made the first pass from the front to the back of my head. It didn’t feel any different to me as he normally did the same with my usual cut. Alarm bells started to ring when I saw the faces of Pete and Steve. After a few more runs over the head, dad looked over to the twins and said that this was a real haircut. The twins just nodded, still with their mouths open. Dad said that he would do them a special next time if they wanted. They did not reply. Dad was now buzzing away, whistling as the clippers ran all over my head. Dad cleaned off the loose hair, pumped some lather into his hand and spread it all over the side and back of my head. He seemed to spread it a long way up the sides and back, but I couldn’t see what he was doing. With the razor in his hand, he started to remove the lather from high up on the crown of my head and went all around the head. He repeated the shave again then wiped off the remains. It was only then that I managed to see myself in the mirror and was shocked at the result. I looked completely bald. I could just make out a small strip of hair running down the centre of my head. Dad removed the cape smiled at the three of us, unlocked the door and told us to come back soon. He also mentioned to me that he would see me later regarding my actions.

Outside, the three of us just stared at each other. The twins kept rubbing their heads, saying that nobody would believe them when they told them what happened. Steve came close to me and ran his hand over my head. He said that he thought his hair was short, but mine was amazing. I could think of another choice of words and told them that I would really be in for it at school tomorrow thanks to their insistence of seeing dad’s barbershop. The twins went off home. I went to my room and waited for dad to pay his visit. I didn’t have to wait for long! It was soon over, but I had to lie on my stomach in bed that night.

In the morning, I looked at myself in the mirror and thought of what lay ahead. Soon dad was dropping me off outside school. I had brought a hat with me, which I quickly put on my head as soon as he had driven away. The four of them were waiting in the usual place but thankfully I managed to get past them and up to the entrance of the school. I forgot that I still had my hat on until the teacher standing at the entrance pulled it off. The next thing I heard was the four of them burst into hysterical laughter. I really suffered that day and not just from the usual four. Everyone had a dig at me regarding my haircut. I couldn’t wait for the day to finish. Perhaps tomorrow would not be as bad. The tormenting went on for the rest of the week and I was really upset. On Friday, I had not seen the twins since our experience, but I managed to persuade mom to let me out as it was the weekend. I went over to their house and was really surprised at how upbeat they were. Everyone thought that their haircuts were awesome, and kept rubbing their hands over their heads. I told them what had happened to me, and that if things didn’t improve, I was seriously thinking of running away. I had really had enough.

Steve went downstairs and returned with some cans of beer. He handed one to Pete and offered me one. Reluctantly I accepted knowing that if my dad found out, I would really be in for it. The twins then started asking me about these four bullies at school and it transpired that they knew where the leader lived. It was just around the corner from where a friend of theirs lived. One thing led to another and after another beer, I said that I would love to get my own back on him for all the grief that he had given me since I started that school. Steve said if I could have my wish what would I do to him? Shave all the hair off his body I said. Then Pete said let’s do it. Let’s welcome him into ‘our’ club. We sat there for another 30 minutes working out a plan. Pete could get a friend of his to drive his truck to where this guy lived. We would get him outside, and the three of us would grab him into the van. I knew dad was going to be away all next week on some course. It was all planned. The only thing left to decide was which day. Tuesday was decided. We spent the rest of my time there making sure that we had gone through everything. On Saturday we gathered various bits and pieces that we would need to go through with the plan.

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