Mike's Replacement by Snipped Sam

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The queue for the barber’s chair had gone right down, it would be me next, I felt both nervous and apprehensive. This was due to this being my first visit to this barber but mostly due to my concerns over the haircut which the boy in front of me was having. As the barber clipped his hair fell from the back of his head, leaving his remaining hair very short. The boy had his head pushed right down and the barber smoothly ran the clippers over the comb. He looked over at me and I imagined that he had noticed that I was watching what he was doing.

"Not long to go now and you’ll be in the chair young man."

"I know"

I replied quietly, this was the first time he had spoken to me since the hello he greeted me with when I went in. My usual gents hairdresser was closed for a holiday, and so my father had decided that I should go to this barber. There was in his view, no reason to wait for Mike’s return, my hair needed cutting and so there was no need for any further discussion.
Finally the boy stepped from the chair and after wiping his neck, collecting his coat and paying the barber, he cheerfully went on his way. Knowing that the boy’s haircut had come to an end, I had already hung up my coat and returned to the wooden seat to wait my turn. The barber had closed the drawer of the till and walked from behind the small counter, he gave me a smile and said;

"Right young man, this way if you please."

I followed him to the barber’s chair and he told me to get on the chair, I stepped over a considerable pile of previous customers fallen hair to sit down.

"A busy afternoon."

He remarked as he fitted the cape.

"Yes, it was quite a wait."

"This is your first haircut here I think."

"That’s right."

"Well as the new boy you’ve seen me give a few haircuts , so you know a little of what to expect from me."

"I suppose I do."

"What did you think of the last boy’s haircut?"

"A bit too short for my liking."

"Do you think so?"

"Yes, but no offence intended."

"None taken, young man."

He replied tucking in some tissue at the back before combing my hair.

"As I’ve not seen you here before, have you perhaps recently moved to the area?"

"No, to be honest my usual hairdresser is closed for a holiday so my dad sent me here."

"Would that perhaps be Michael on Nelson Road?"

"That’s right."

"I only asked because I had someone else in who is one of his regulars, I can’t say that I know him, but know of his shop."

"I’ve been going to him for a long time."

"Have you now?...But your father sent you to me."

"That’s right."

"Any did he give you any instructions about your haircut?"

"He said my hair needs a good tidying up."

"Anything else?"

"No not really."

I replied, not wanting to tell him that dad had said hopefully he might take a bit more off than Mike does. Since I had become a teenager, dad and I had not agreed on my hair and I knew that he would have liked my hair considerably shorter than Mike usually cut it.

"Are you sure? Because I need to know what your father wants me to do, and no not really, tells me there is a bit more to tell me."

He stood there poised with his scissors ready to start cutting my hair, and he nodded as if to say spit it out.

"Well dad did say that he hoped you would take a bit more off than Mike does."

"I see, well that won’t be a problem."

He had begun to cut my hair at the back of my head, I was now cursing Mike for going on holiday, had I known he was I would have got my haircut before he went away. I had seen the barber cut the hair of the three gentlemen before me short, and the boy was done very short. The scissors snipped away at an alarming rate, and my auburn hair now looked much shorter as a great deal of it had joined the pile of hair on the floor. After brushing my face and neck down, he took his comb and clippers.

"No need to look so worried young man, I need to trim you up at the sides."

He jovially advised me, as he started lifting my hair above my ears with a comb and running the clippers over it, the hair tumbled onto the cape.

"This isn’t so bad is it?"

I had to admit that it wasn’t and told him this.

"There you see the sides look very neat and tidy."

"Yes although shorter than I usually have the sides."

"That’s the general idea, and now I’m just going to pop your head down."

He said as he firmly bent my head forward, I wanted to say no or try to resist, but I knew that he must have his way. I realized that he would do my haircut his way, regardless of what I thought and I took some comfort by telling myself that this was a one off.

"Nothing to worry about old lad."

The clippers were humming as they approached the back of my head, I felt my hair being lifted with the comb, and then heard the metal blades running over the plastic comb and the sound of my hair being cleared by the clippers. I could still picture the hair of the boy who was before me, with all that hair stripped from the back of his head sitting on his neck. I was aware that my auburn hair now sat on my neck as I too was having my hair on the back of my head stripped. I heard the door open and someone spoke to the barber and sat down. The voice was fairly young and he seemed very upbeat, I heard him say to the barber that he had been on leave and was there for the barber to take care of it before he went back. I assumed the young man must be in the forces. They chatted while the barber carried on clipping away, before finally dusting off all my fallen hair. My head was then lifted up.

"Wotcha Skinhead."

I wasn’t happy to be greeted with this by the man, especially as I felt really self-conscious, but I knew he was just being friendly and said wotcha back.

"That wasn’t so bad was it?"

"I suppose not."

The barber had a chrome dispenser which he dribbled some hair oil onto the top of my head, then using a hand brush he brushed it into my hair before making my hair lay very flat with a sharp looking side parting. I knew that the ordeal was almost over.

"I don’t suppose you want to see the back."

"I’d still like to see it."

I replied, knowing that I needed to see exactly how it looked and what he had done. He said very well, before picking up the oblong, hand held mirror and standing behind me. I could see that he had done the back exactly as the previous boy, which was severely clipped and tapered. He had taken my hair high up the back of my head, and clipped towards the centre each side. So it looked like I had a thin seam running down the centre of the back of my head.

"That looks a lot better doesn’t it young man?"

"It’s very short."

"You’ll soon get used to it."

The man piped up to my exclaims about how short my hair was. Having put the mirror back, the barber began loosening the cape at the back so he could powder my neck. After a good powdering the cape was removed and I stepped from the chair. Having paid the barber for my haircut, he remarked that hopefully he would see me again. Not in a million years was my reply, intending to go only to Mike in the future.

That evening on his return home from work my father greeted my haircut with satisfaction and said that he thought that this was the barber for me. I protested saying that I hated my haircut and that I would only go to Mike in future. My father was having none of it, pointing out that in the past Mike was too reluctant to cut my hair short enough. He said that it was most fortuitous that Mike was away and this new barber had been given the opportunity to cut my hair. Unfortunately for me I protested far too much for my father’s liking, which caused him to resort to his much favored way to deal with my antics…The slipper followed by an early bed.

I did not return to Mike’s for a haircut again, and the next time I went to the "New barber" he did not mention what I said about not going to him in a million years. I tried to be upbeat when I requested the same haircut as the last time, as per my father’s instructions.

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