A buzz cut at the barbers by Jimmy

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The cape settles around my neck as my barber fastens it at the back.

"So today's the day then?" he says with a grin I'd been talking about buzzing my hair off for a while and he knew what I was going to ask for.
I smile back. "Yeah. Let's buzz it."

He runs a comb through my hair one last time, almost as if he's saying goodbye to it. I've been thinking about this for weeks. Looking at photos. Imagining it. Wondering if I'd stop at 6mm or go even shorter.

"How short you wanting to go today?" he asks.
"It's the summer holidays so I'm wanting to go really short. Let's start with a 2 guard and then I'll see how it looks."

He reaches for the clippers and clicks on the guard. Then comes that familiar sound.
Bzzzzzz
The motor comes to life.
My heart is racing far more than it should be for a haircut.

He places the clippers at the very front of my hairline.
"Are you sure?"
I nod.
The clippers touch my forehead. Then he pushes. The vibration spreads across the top of my head as the clippers glide straight back over the crown in one slow, confident pass. I can feel the resistance disappear almost instantly.
A thick strip of hair tumbles down onto the cape.

My barber doesn't stop. Another pass. Then another.
Hair slides down my shoulders and gathers in my lap.

Within a few minutes the carefully styled crew cut I've been wearing is gone.

He switches the clippers off.

"How's that?"

I lean forward. The 6mm buzz is clean. Neat. Simple. I run my hand across the top feeling the short bristles.

"Do you want to leave it there or go shorter?" He asks.

"I like it" I pause. "but I want to go shorter."

I look back at myself one more time in the mirror.

"Let's go down to number 1"

Without hesitation, he swaps the guard. The clippers start again.

This time, the difference is obvious from the very first pass. The little bit of texture that's left at 6mm almost disappears. I can hear the clippers cutting tiny hairs. The sensation is even more intense now. More fine hair rains onto the cape.

When my barber finally brushes away the loose clippings and spins the chair back towards the mirror, I instinctively reach up before I even look.

My fingertips glide over the even stubble.

Exactly what I'd been imagining. Exactly what I'd been fantasising about.

I can't stop grinning. For a moment, it feels strange. Not because I don't like itbut because it's such a dramatic change. Twenty minutes ago I had a crew cut. Now my hair is barely there.

I smile.

Walking out of the shop, the breeze hits my scalp in a way I've forgotten about. The air feels cooler. Lighter.

I reach up again without even thinking and rub the top of my head. I know I'll be doing that all day.

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