The one friend who has long hair by Snagg

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We are a group of four friends who work out together several times a week. Since we all have flexible working hours, we usually meet after breakfast.

After training, we often go to a café and chat a bit. We don't need much time in the shower and changing room and we're out of the gym quickly. Except one of us, Matthias. We have to wait for him every time.

Matthias is the only one of us who has longer hair. The rest of us have military short hair. Sebastian has a recon, smoothly shaved on the back and sides and buzzed down to 5 millimeters on the top. Alex has a horseshoe flattop and my hair is cut into a 3 millimeter buzz.

Matthias' brown curls are shoulder-length and he needs a lot of time to wash, dry and style them. The rest of us are becoming increasingly annoyed.
"We're always waiting because of your mop!"
"We could have been sitting in the café a long time ago."
"If we go on holiday together soon, I don't want to have to wait for you for half the holiday."

But when we are on holiday in Gran Canaria, that is exactly what happens: We constantly have to wait for Matthias. In the morning after sports, in the evening before we go to a restaurant and every time we go to the toilet, he not only pees, but also fiddles with his hair in front of the mirror.

On the last day we do sports as usual after breakfast. Then we just have time to take a quick shower before we have to go to the airport. The rest of us are already sitting in the rental car, but who isn't leaving the hotel? Matthias.
"If we don't leave immediately, we'll miss our plane," says Sebastian.
"Matthias is our friend, but I don't wanna miss the flight because of his damn hair," says Alex.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" asks Sebastian.
"Yes!" Alex and I answer.
"Let's go!" says Alex. "That's enough now."
Sebastian starts the engine and we rush to the airport. Since we only have hand luggage, we can go straight to security. As we reach the gate, boarding begins shortly afterwards.

In the meantime, Matthias is furious. He calls me back while he's standing in front of the hotel and has to wait forever for a taxi.
"Maybe all taxi drivers need to style their hair first," I say.
"Very funny, Tom!"

In the end, Matthias misses the plane and has to spend a lot of money to book a new ticket for a later flight. He doesn't get home until well after midnight and doesn't show up for our work out the next morning.

I call him around noon.
"I don't know if I want to talk to you," says Matthias.
"It wasn't very nice of us to just leave," I say. "But it's not very nice of you to keep us waiting either."
"I got my hair cut."
"You got what?"
"I had a lot of time at the airport. To think and to get my hair cut. I had to pay a fortune yesterday because of my hair. And I know it's annoying to always have to wait for me."
"How short did you cut it?"
"I told the barber that I want my hair so short that I can't style it anymore. He gave me a few suggestions. But in the end I told him to just give me a clipper shave."
"Without a guard?"
"Yep."
"I'm glad you had the balls to get a no-compromise cut and not some boring side-parted hairstyle."
"Well, I have a lot more space in the bathroom now after I threw away all the hair care products, brushes and the hair dryer."
"Doesn't sound like you plan on growing your hair back someday."
"It was a great feeling not having to worry about the state of my hair when I woke up. It's still a little strange to see myself with a shaved head, but I enjoy not having all that hair anymore."
"Are you coming to the gym with us again tomorrow?"
"I think so!" says Matthias. "How do you think the others will react?"
"They'll give you an appreciative pat on your freshly shorn skull and then we'll work out like we always do."

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