Mean Lesson by buzztob

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Mean Lesson
by
buzztob

I enjoyed the majority of my early childhood. I lived in a fairly large house with my parents and two brothers. My older brother Steve, was an easy-going guy, who at the age of 15, was starting to change. I’m Michael, aged 13, the joker of the family. Then there is Henry, aged 11 and a pain in the butt. Henry was able to twist my parents around his little finger. No matter how much Steve and I tried to explain things to our parents whenever there was any trouble, it was always Henry’s version they accepted.

Steve and I did a lot of things together and we got on really well. When not at school, we would be out of the house at the earliest opportunity, mainly to escape the constant whining from Henry. He would always be complaining to our parents that we would never allow him to join in with our activities. They were always saying that we should involve our younger brother in our activities. It didn’t matter how much we tried to explain to them that even our friends were tired of Henry’s constant moaning, it was always our fault and nothing to do with Henry.

At the time, we were all heavily involved in sport. All that is, except Henry. Along with all our friends, we supported fairly short haircuts. This was really helped by having a large American military base not far away, so a lot of the shops and facilities catered to them. That included the local barber shops. They were all used to cutting short hairstyles and a couple specialized in really short military haircuts. They possessed all the latest equipment, even some items from the States.

Henry, supported a hairstyle that had his ears covered and nestled on his shirt collar. He never went with Steve or I to the barbers. He would always persuade mom to take him for a trim. We would make regular trips to the barbers every two weeks. It was often a topic of discussion with our friends, comparing the various barbers, their skills and equipment they used.

It was during one of these conversations, that someone mentioned that there was a new barber’s shop opening in the local town the following week. Flyers had been handed out detailing the services and prices, but the thing that really caught our attention, was the statement that the barbers were ex-military. They specialised in short military haircuts and every haircut would be finished with a razor. We were all unsure what that final statement meant.

Steve and I were due haircuts, so we agreed to try out the new shop. We mentioned it to our parents and asked if we could have some money for the haircuts. The shop was offering a special opening deal of half price haircuts for the first week. Dad thought it was a good deal. Two haircuts for the price of one. When we told him that quite a few of our friends were going as well, he said that perhaps we should take Henry. Looking over at Henry you could see the colour drain from his face.

Steve and I said that we would be going straight from school and we could check it out. If dad was happy with our haircuts, then he could send Henry on his own. After all, he was now of an age that he should be going on his own, and not have mom hold his hand. Dad thought that was a good plan and it would allow Henry to start taking responsibility for himself. Dad asked us what haircut we were getting. We both replied, probably the usual, you know, four on top and tapered tight. He smiled and said that he liked that look on us, looking across to Henry.

The day arrived when Steve and I made our way to the new barbers. The shop looked amazing. It was light, clean and fresh, you could still smell the paint. There were three barbers’ chairs, arranged in front of a mirror that ran the entire length of the wall. A shelf was installed beneath the mirror and attached to that was a vast assortment of clippers. I had never seen so many clippers displayed in a barber’s shop.

There were two barbers working when we arrived and no one waiting. Steve and I took off our jackets and sat down. No sooner had we sat down, when a third barber appeared from a back room and walked over to the vacant chair asking who was next. I looked at Steve and said that I would go first. As I made my way to the chair, I saw that all three barbers were quite young and supported very short haircuts.

Once seated, taped and caped, the barber ran a comb through my hair and asked what are we doing today. I replied that I wanted it four on top tapered tight. The barber looked at me in the mirror and said, big change then. I asked what he meant, as it had only been a couple of weeks since my last haircut. A smile crossed his face and said that they mainly used Oster clippers, not the ones used by the local barbers. He stated that his assumption from what I had said, would have been a 4 zero on top and the sides and back basically stripped of hair and razored fairly high to ensure a tight taper. He showed me the various clipper heads lined up on the shelf starting with a 5 zero which would leave 0.2mm of hair, the 4 would leave 0.25mm and so on. Then there are the larger heads, ranging from one to three. That would give approximately the same result as the clippers that I was probably used to. I said it was a good job that he had explained what he thought I had asked for otherwise, I would have left the shop bald. Steve had heard the conversation and with a slight smirk on his face, said that it would be a real surprise for Henry when he asks for a 4 on top. I asked the barber about his assumption and he said that they were still getting used to UK specifications and requirements, so unless someone asked for the UK four guard, they would assume it was the Oster hair length the person wanted, after all, the shop was targeting the American forces.

Steve was approaching one of the other chairs and once seated, he said in a loud voice UK number 4 with a tight taper. The barbers and I just laughed. My barber said that he took it that I wanted the same. I replied yes please.

Straight off, the clippers were switched on and the removal of the hair on the top of my head commenced. The guy was fast, but was very attentive to his task. I mentioned that quite a few of our friends would be coming to the shop, especially as they were offering half price haircuts for the first week. The barber said that they had decided to stay in the UK for now, having just recently left the military. Two of them were planning on marrying local girls so the whole scenario seemed right.

The back and sides were tapered in very tight and I was really pleased with how the haircut was progressing. With a final dusting, I thought the haircut was over. But the barber placed a towel over the cape and went to the shelf. A loud whirr was emitted from a machine on the shelf. The barber approached me with a mound of shaving foam in his hand. The warm foam was smeared around the sides and back of my head. The barber picked up a razor and asked how high I wanted the shave to be. I told him I didn’t know, as this was my first time. The barber said, ok, let’s keep it fairly low this time, and the next time, you can decide on low, medium or high. He proceeded to scrape the foam off all around my head. The sensation was amazing and hearing the razor scrapping off the remaining hair sent tingles down my spine. He finished off by removing the excess foam with the towel. He picked up the mini clippers, and lightly touched them around my head, just above the shaved area. A final dusting, a quick look in a hand mirror and my approval of a perfect haircut, the cape was removed. I stood up and thanked the barber for a wonderful experience. Looking across at Steve, he was just having the foam applied to his head.

We were soon on our way home. Both of us buzzing from the latest haircut experience. We couldn’t wait to tell all our friends.

When we arrived home, dad saw us and complimented us on our haircuts saying it was one of the best he had seen us supporting. He asked if it was the four on top with the tight taper. We replied it was, but explained about the razor finish. He just smiled, turned to Henry and told him to get his haircut tomorrow on the way home from school. He reminded him to ask for a four on top and a high taper.

The next day at school was brilliant. We had all our friends hyped up about trying the new barbers. When we arrived home, we could hear the sobbing as soon as we walked in the door.

Entering the kitchen, dad was there asking Henry what had possessed him to have all his hair shaved off. Steve and I had to control ourselves from laughing. Dad asked him what he had asked for. Henry told him that he had said four on top with a high taper. He said that the barber ran the clippers over his head and this was the result. Then he removed the hair on the sides and back. The barber put shaving foam all around his head. Then asked if he had said he wanted it high. Henry said that it was. The barber put the razor right up to the top of my head and removed all the foam. Dad looked across at us and I could see that he was not pleased. Quickly, Steve said, you did ask for the UK 4 guard, didn’t you? Henry said that he had just said 4 to the barber. Steve then turned to dad and said that the barber must have thought that Henry wanted an Oster 4 zero on top, after all, they are ex US military. By the look of the haircut and the shaved sides, Henry is now supporting, what the military call, a good old high and tight.

Steve and I had to leave the room before we burst out laughing. All we heard was dad saying that next time you should go with your brothers, they know what to ask for. But I do like the new short haircut, but perhaps next time, not to go so short.

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