Spring Break Haircut

My older sister Elaine had always been jealous of me ever since we were children. She was envious of the fact that people always said I was a cuter child. She was envious of the fact I was more popular among my friends and peers. She was envious of the fact that I got better grades all throughout elementary and high school. She was envious of the fact I grew to be much prettier than her as I got older. And last but certainly not least, she had always been, ever since we were children, envious of my long gorgeous dark blond hair. Her own hair, thin and stringy and a dull brown, just couldn't compare, no matter how hard she tried Eventually she just gave up and cut it short into a plain, boring bob.

My hair, on the other hand, grew longer and longer as I got older. In high school it got to the length I ended up keeping it at, hanging down in a thick amazing sheet to the middle of my bum. I always got compliments on my hair, whether from friends, strangers or family members. I loved my hair. I considered it my best feature and it was most certainly my most prized possession, my crowning glory so to speak. I took immaculate care of it, which showed in it's healthy and wonderful condition, and whenever I got it cut I always only got a half an inch trimmed from the ends.

The summer before I was to leave for college, I was positively beaming because I'd gotten a full scholarship to an east coast Ivy League school. Since I didn't have to pay for tuition, my parents agreed to use my college fund to pay for my own apartment instead of a tiny dorm room. I was stoked to live on my own, experience college life and get a taste of independence in a new city.

My sister, meanwhile, had recently dropped out of community college. I tried my best not to talk about my scholarship or how excited I was about it in front of her so she didn't get upset, but I could tell she was annoyed with how great things were going for me. She ended up going to beauty school to become a hairdresser and started working at a local salon right before I left for college.

When I came home for spring break, I was happy to get a short respite from my studies and just relax for a change. My sister had moved out only a few weeks earlier, her salon job paying enough for her to finally afford a little apartment in the center of town. I was happy that she seemed to be doing so well. My parents also seemed quite proud of her as well

Our first dinner together when I got home was actually pretty peaceful and enjoyable for once. During dinner my mom asked me what my plans were during my short break. I rattled off a bunch of things, including the fact that I needed to get my hair cut. I hadn't gotten it cut since I'd started college. I didn't have any split ends yet, but it wasn't looking as neat as it usually did.

"Just drop by the salon tomorrow. I can cut it for you," my sister offered.

I was a bit taken aback by her offer. I never even considered letting my sister cut my hair. It did make sense though, since she was now a hairdresser. Nevertheless, I was a little uneasy with the idea of her being near my beloved hair with a pair of scissors. So, being as polite as I could, I told her I was thankful for the offer, but that I really wanted to drop in and see my old hairstylist.

"Who, Mary?" my sister said. "She's off on vacation, I think."

"Oh," I replied, now feeling like I was between a rock and a hard place.

My mom told me I should just let Elaine do my hair. Apparently Elaine had been cutting her hair since I'd been gone. It was still long and looked as good as ever, which indicated Elaine was a capable stylist. That put me a bit more at ease, but I still wasn't keen on letting my sister loose on my hair. Unfortunately, I couldn't think of any reason to not go to Elaine to get my hair cut that wouldn't hurt her feelings.

"Well, I guess I could," I said.

My sister beamed. "Great! I'm free between ten and eleven tomorrow morning."

I meekly smiled, still a little unsure but figuring I had nothing to really worry about. "Okay," I replied.

I slept in the next morning until about ten o'clock, happy to get some solid sleep for a change. After slipping on jeans a a T-shirt, I brushed my hair to perfection and headed out to grab some coffee and a danish before I headed to the salon where my sister worked. I had never been to the salon before. It wasn't super high end, but it was pretty nice. I got there a little after ten.

My sister was already waiting for me, looking anxious to get started. I wasn't in the salon more than a minute before she ushered me to the wash station to shampoo my hair. We engaged in some small talk as she turned on the water and started dampening my beautiful dark blond hair. The sink was full of my lovely locks as she took her time lathering my hair before rinsing it out and then applying some conditioner. She really seemed to know what she was doing and I began to relax as I sat there and listened to her tell stories of some of her more interesting customers.

After wrapping a towel around my hair, she walked me over to her chair, which wasn't far off. The newer stylists apparently got the chairs closest to the back. She whipped a black nylon cape over me and buttoned it tightly around my neck. It was a little too tight for my liking, but I didn't say anything.

After taking the towel from my hair, she started going about combing it all out, which always took a little while since my hair was so long. The shampoo and conditioning had really helped though. The comb slid easily through my silky soft locks as she separated it all into sections and started pinning it up. Eventually she had everything pinned up except for the hair in the back at the bottom which hung down the back of the chair in a thin veil.

As she ran the comb down my hair, she titled my head down.

"You're getting older now, Lucy," she said. "I think it's time you had a more mature look, don't you?"

I furrowed my brows. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, walking around with this fairy tale princess hair isn't helping you out any," she said. "No one is gonna take you seriously with hair like this."

I was really confused with why she was saying this as well as her sudden abrupt change in attitude from just moments earlier.

She gently squeezed my shoulder. "But don't you worry, little sis. I'll give you something much more mature and easy to manage."

I started getting nervous. "I really, uh, I really just want a trim. A half an inch off the ends please."

"You're stuck in a rut, Lucy. Always the same 'ol same 'ol. You're not five years old anymore. It's time for something new," she said.

Before I could even respond, I suddenly felt the cold steel of the scissors on my neck and heard the scissors start slicing through my damp hair. Elaine cut a straight line across my neck, sending stunningly long lengths of hair sliding down to the floor at her feet. The whole veil of hair now lie coiled on the salon floor.

I gasped. "Elaine, what are you doing?!"

She let down more of my hair and started combing through it. "Something you'll thank me for. Trust me. This is gonna look so cute when I'm done. No one is going to recognize you!"

I felt the scissors on my neck again, right at my hairline. Elaine didn't hesitate to start whacking off more of my gorgeous hair, sending long heavy tendrils of dark blond hair cascading down the slippery nylon cape. I knew she was cutting off a ton of hair as my heart beat like a jackhammer in my chest.

"Elaine I just want a trim!" I cried.

Elaine let out a little laugh, as if amused by my panic. "Well, it's too late for that. Just sit tight. This is gonna be awesome. Trust me."

I really didn't have a choice, since she'd already started cutting my hair. So I sat there in shock as she continued to cut off all my hair while hoping it wasn't as bad as I thought. Eye-popping amounts of hair were falling down the back of the chair as she cut and cut and cut, showing no mercy or remorse in removing such gorgeous healthy hair from my head. I was deeply distressed while Elaine seemed to be having the time of her life.

I had no idea how short she was cutting it, that all my wonderful length was being cut off, piling up on the floor behind the chair with every snip of her scissors. The scissors did feel startlingly close to my head though and I feared the worst.

Those fears were realized when she started cutting the hair on the side of my head and I finally saw with my own eyes the huge lengths of hair she was cutting off. My eyes widened as I watched more than three feet of hair slide down the cape. It was so long it took my breath away.

"Elaine!" I said with mouth agape. "What are you doing?! That's way too much!"

Elaine smiled as she just went on cutting without any hesitation. "I've been wanting to do this for so long," she admitted. "You have the perfect face for super short hair. You're gonna look so cute!"

My eyes followed a big hank of hair as she snipped it off the side of my head. It slid down the cape, stopping in my lap. I couldn't believe how long it was, that it was really my soft, gorgeous hair I was seeing snake down the cape.

"How short are you cutting it?" I asked with alarm, my hands shivering on the arm rests.

Elaine smiled as she cut through a big chunk of hair and it plopped audibly down on the cape. "Really, really short," she said with a smile. "You remember when Emma Watson cut off all her hair?"

My eyes widened and my mouth dropped.

She smirked. "It's gonna be a little shorter than that."

My mouth dropped even further. "Shorter?! Elaine, her hair was like super short!"

I winced as she cut off another long length of my hair above my ear.

Elaine just smiled. "I know. It was a really cute haircut, but yours is gonna be even cuter and edgier."

"I don't want short hair. I just wanted a trim," I said, watching my ongoing haircut in shock.

So much hair was falling down the cape, I felt completely overwhelmed. This was my gorgeous long hair that I loved so much and my sister was just heartlessly chopping it all off as if it were nothing.

Elaine brushed off my concerns. "Oh don't be such a baby. It's just a haircut."

"Just a haircut? Elaine, you're cutting all my hair off," I whimpered.

"You had long hair forever. It's time to try something completely different," she said, having finished cropping the side of my head. She fingered it with a satisfied grin, as if pleased my once amazing hair was now so drastically short.

I turned my head slightly to assess the damage and I gasped as I saw she had cut it all to just a few inches.

"You should see the look on your face," she said as she let down my hair on the other side. "I should have taken some pictures. I'm sure everyone would have gotten a kick out of them."

She started chopping off all the hair on the other side of my head. I sat gaping as I watched the long locks tumbling down the cape. She could hardly contain her joy, clearly relishing in every minute of this, while I sat horrified at what she was doing to my crowning glory. I had had gorgeous long hair hanging all the way down to my butt when I walked in and she was cutting it all off with reckless abandon, clearly taking great pleasure in completely shearing me.

After she'd finished cropping the side of my head, she took out the clip holding all the hair atop my head. She gathered all the hair in her fist and held it up high. And then, to my horror, she sunk her scissors into the massive ponytail, starting in the front.

I cringed as I heard the scissors struggling to get through my thick, beautiful hair. Short locks started flopping down on my forehead as she worked into the meat of the big clump of hair. After a minute or so, she'd hacked through the whole thing and was holding an enormous mass of hair in her hand, a smile glued to her lips.

"Well, that was fun," she said.

I watched her simply toss the hair to the floor, my stomach churning.

"What have you done?" I said as I beheld my hacked up hair in the mirror. "My hair... it looks horrible."

"It's not finished yet, silly," she said as she combed my hair so that it lay flat.

The hair in front, I guess my new bangs, almost reached my eyes. Some of the top layers covered the shorter cropped hair on the sides.

"Take a deep breath, sis," she said as she went to the counter. "Otherwise you might pass out during this next part."

I was too busy looking at my hideous reflection, my hair now cut so short and looking like some sort of uneven bowl cut. My attention was quickly brought back to my scissor-happy sister when I saw her approach me holding a pair of hair clippers. My eyes widened and I gasped.

"Elaine, no," I said. "No freakin' way!"

"Just hold still," she said with a smile.

I jerked my head away, but she quickly grabbed it and held it steady. I cringed, gritting my teeth as she ran the clippers up the side of my head. When she pulled the clippers away a clump of hair plopped down on the cape.

"Oh my god," I gasped.

Elaine giggled at my reaction.

"It's not funny," I said. "You're buzzing my hair!"

"I told you I was going super short," she said, as if I should have known she was going to do this..

"You didn't say you were gonna buzz it," I said. "Oh my god... my hair..."

Elaine smiled as she ran the clippers up my head again.

"Elaine!" I exclaimed.

She laughed. "What? I can't stop now. Just sit still and let me finish. Otherwise you'll make me screw up."

I couldn't believe what was happening as she worked around the whole of my head, buzzing the sides and back to a uniform dark blond fuzz. It was such a strange sensation as the clippers carved paths up my head, almost onto the top, sending slightly damp clumps of hair rolling down the cape. Feeling the clipper blades chew through my hair made me want to throw up. I was so relieved when she finally shut off the clippers. Nevertheless, my hair was now buzzed close on the sides and back of my head.

She started spritzing the hair atop my head. "Almost there, sis. Just gotta cut the top and then do some shaping and blending. Maybe neaten up the back a little too."

A chunk of my new bangs were lifted off my forehead and I watched as Elaine, whose fingers were flush against my head, snipped off everything above her knuckles. The hair tumbled down my face and audibly plopped down on the cape.

"Oh my god, that's so short," I wailed.

"You'll get used to it," she said as she continued gathering and lopping off the hair atop my head. "After a while you won't even remember having all that long heavy hair. Hanging all the way down to your butt. I don't know how you could handle it. This'll be much easier to take care of for my little college student sis."

She chopped off all the hair atop my head, leaving it maybe an inch long at most. If it were cut any shorter it wouldn't have even been able to lay flat. She even went in with the thinning shears and removed a lot of the thickness, as if only to add insult to injury. Then she spent a good deal of time blending the sides and top with her scissors and comb.

All the while I sat there feeling defeated. All my gorgeous long hair, my most defining and best feature, was gone. For the first time in my life I actually felt unattractive, which I couldn't help but think pleased my sister. She looked so proud of herself as she snipped away at my newly short hair.

I sighed my despair as she grabbed the clippers again and started tapering the sides even shorter. Though I still had a little hair on my head, I really felt bald. The last step of the haircut from hell was her using a little set of trimming clippers to clean up around my ears and my neck. I hated the feeling of the clippers tickling my neck, sending little snippets of hair flying everywhere.

She wiped her hand across my neck, cleaning away the little hairs and finally shut off the clippers. "There we go, little sis. You're all done."

I slowly rose my head and beheld my new reflection. I was horrified by what I saw. My hair was cut so brutally short. She'd shown no mercy, buzzing the sides so that my scalp was peeking through a little. I never realized how big my ears were until now. They seemed to stick out from my head with nothing to hide them. Long story short, I didn't think I suited short hair at all. Compared to my long hair, this was a major downgrade. I felt like I'd gone from a ten to a two, which I

guess was what my sister was aiming for. She had certainly succeeded.

I desperately wanted my long hair back, but it was all on the floor. Too late I realized I'd made a horrible mistake letting Elaine cut my hair. She had always been envious of my beautiful hair. I should have listened to my first instinct and said no, regardless of hurting her feelings. Now I was sporting a super short, buzzed haircut. I felt so stupid.

"What do you think?" she said, standing behind me with the widest and proudest of smiles.

I curled my lip in disgust. "I look like a boy."

"No you don't," she said. "You look super cute."

She tousled my hair a bit, at least what was left of it, which wasn't very much. I was typically beaming with confidence, sure of myself in most situations. Now I felt so incredibly self-conscious and meek. Elaine could clearly tell and seemed delighted by my change of attitude.

She'd stolen my hair, my crowning glory and turned the tables on me. She finally had something better than me. Her hair, while short, was now nicer, shinier and most definitely longer than mine. Meanwhile my hair looked like it had just been cut at the local barbershop. I'd be lucky if people didn't think I was a lesbian or something.

Elaine pulled the cape off me, sending long clumps of hair crashing to the floor. "You'll get used to it," she said with a smile. "And I'm sure everyone is gonna love it. You're just so adorable with short hair."

I slowly rose from the chair, my legs feeling weak. I was stunned by how much hair was on the floor. When I finally felt my new haircut, I cringed, especially when I felt the back.

"Don't worry about paying. It's on the house," my sister said, giving me a wink.

I was shell-shocked. It hadn't really sunk in yet what had happened.

"You should get going," she said. "Go enjoy the rest of your spring break. I need to clean up this mess. You had so much hair!"

I felt a pang of sadness at the mention of my once glorious mane.

Elaine just stared at me with a smile, looking as if she were expecting something. "Well? Aren't you going to thank me for the free haircut?" she said.

Feeling small and defeated, I meekly replied, "Thanks."

"No problem, sis. Next time you're home from college I'll neaten it up again," she said.

I forced a tiny smile and then turned away, self-consciously fingering my super short hair. Elaine probably loved the sight of the back of my buzzed head. For so many years she'd seen a gorgeous blanket of dark blond hair swaying behind my back. She probably took great pleasure in now seeing my shorn head and neck.

I walked out onto the street like a zombie, my head being assaulted by strange new sensations, like the feeling of the soft breeze on my neck and buzzed back and sides. On the way home I walked by my old salon and lo and behold there was my old stylist Mary working inside. She wasn't on vacation like my sister had said. I

It was clear Elaine had planned this from the start and I'd been dumb enough to fall for it hook, line and sinker. Now there was nothing I could do but mourn the loss of my long hair while Elaine celebrated my drastic shearing.