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"That was a bit mean of you wasn't it, Penny?"

"What?"

"That last customer, shaving her head like that."

"It wasn't my idea, it was that friend of hers who suggested it, while I was cutting her last night. Something to do with being pestered by a guy who wants to video her washing her hair." Penny replied.

"Whatever turns you on, I suppose." The receptionist carried on tidying the front desk as Penny disappeared further down the salon.

The following morning the phone rang.

"Hair Academy, Good Morning" the receptionist greeted, a little too enthusiastically.

"Hi, I'd like to make an appointment with Penny, please."

"Ok, have you been here before?"

"Yes, a couple of times."

"OK, when would suit?"

"As soon as she can fit me in really."

"And what's it for?"

"Just a dry cut."

"OK, she can take you this afternoon at 5:15 if that suits."

"Yea, great."

"And the name is.....?"

"It's Ruth."

"OK, then Ruth, we'll see you at 5:15".

Ruth, Ruth, that name rang a bell, the receptionist thought. The phone went again and it was off into the routine for the day. She thought nothing more of the first call.

Just after five, a customer appeared at reception. The girl from yesterday, the one who was with the head-shave, the receptionist thought.

"Hi, I've got an appointment with Penny" the girl said.

The receptionist smiled. "I didn't recognise you on the phone, you must be Ruth." Ruth nodded. "You can't keep away can you?" the receptionist added, as she came around from behind the counter. She motioned to Ruth to have a seat and carried on walking. It wasn't quite 5:15 but she knew that Penny was free.

"Penny, your next appointment is here. It's Ruth, the girl who was in with her friend yesterday."

"I'll be right there, Sarah" Penny said.

Sarah returned to reception where Ruth was absorbed with a magazine. Sarah didn't want to disturb her. Almost immediately though she heard Penny's voice.

"I didn't expect you back quite so soon, Ruth. Come on through." They were gone.

Sarah stayed by the phone, intrigued at what was going on in the salon. She didn't dare leave the desk until 5:30 as the owner was likely to ring for an update on how the day had gone. Although it didn't happen everyday, it was almost guaranteed to happen as soon as Sarah left her station. She had been caught before and hadn't made it back to the phone before the fourth ring. Even if there's a fire, she was to stay at reception, she had been told. Stay she did.

It gave her time to ponder the events of yesterday evening - the girl from Tuesday coming back with her friend whose shoulder length hair Penny so dramatically shaved off. She had just caught the end of the clipper work as she led another client through to the salon for one of the stylists and then of course she had seen the finished version as the girl had left. A stunning transformation. And now here was Ruth back again, on her own. There could be little doubt what she was going to have done, there was so little hair to start with. A number two as a starting point does not leave too many styling options. Sarah's hand went up to her own hair. Neat, collar length, brown bob, pampered with as many haircare products as she could afford. Nice hair, smart hair, to create the right impression.

Most of the girls in the salon had shortish hair, the legacy of too many quiet periods where a little experimentation went on. That said, none of them wore their hair less than a few inches long, Jane's pixie was probably the shortest. Excluding Penny's that is. Penny fascinated Sarah. She was by far the oldest stylist in the salon, but she was the most stylish, the classiest, the sexiest if Sarah had to look at things from that point of view. It amazed Sarah that all that could be achieved by a woman of 51 with a man's haircut. Well, not a man's haircut exactly, because this was done with the utmost care and precision, but it was the sort of length that would potentially be even too short for a lot of men.

She heard footsteps. And voices. Penny. And Ruth. Sarah had been right. She smiled at Ruth. "Wow" was all that she could muster.

"Isn't she gorgeous?" Penny asked.

"Fabulous" Sarah agreed. Some women could get away with being bald, and Ruth was one of them. She had looked cute when she had come in with her ultra-short hair, but this was another level. Sarah was brought back to reality by Penny asking her to pencil Ruth in for a follow-up next week. She handed Ruth an appointment card and took the cash offered. Ruth left, eager to make a phone call no doubt.

Sarah didn't see Penny for several minutes, but busied herself with needless tasks in the hope that she would see Penny before she left. She heard her coming.

"She really did look good, didn't she Penny?" Sarah said.

"I didn't think that she would do it, but it really suits her" Penny asked.

There was a pause.

"Penny, could you fit me in one evening. I think I need to liven up my image a bit?"

"I thought you liked Linda to do your hair" Penny said.

"I did. I mean, I do, but I thought that you might have a few different ideas to suggest."

"Well, what were you thinking of, love?" Penny asked.

"I don't know. I just want to leave it up to someone else really, otherwise I'll just end up with a different coloured bob."

"Well, if you give me time for a cup of tea, we can do it when the others have left if you like."

"No, I wouldn't want to put you out" Sarah said.

"It's no trouble. It'll cost you that cup of tea, though."

"You're a star" Sarah said, and hurried off to the staff room to get the tea. While she waited for the kettle to boil she had a few moments to herself. She looked in the mirror. She gathered up her hair into one hand and held it back off her face. She didn't know. It looked strange. The bob suited her, but it was a bit ordinary really. She had the chance to see everyone who came and went. The ordinary coming in and in most cases, the striking leaving. Some of the girls did competition work and so she was quite used to seeing some dramatic transformations leaving the salon, particularly colour transformations.

The tea was ready. She carried it out to the salon where she found it deserted apart from Penny sitting in one of the styling chairs.

"It's been a long day" she said.

"We can do this some other time" Sarah said, suddenly feeling guilty.

"No time like the present. Now, have a seat."

Sarah put the tea next to Penny and sat. Penny looked at her carefully, urging her to hold her hair up as she had just done in private. She nodded. Sarah let her hair down.

Penny drank from the cup and then put it back down beside her. She stood.

"So, no ideas then?" she asked.

"No" she said.

"You must have seen something that you liked in the past few days, surely."

Sarah shook her head.

"OK then, what has brought this on all of a sudden, then?"

Sarah paused. "It was those two girls I suppose, the ones with the shaved heads."

"You're not going to....?"

"No" she answered a little too quickly. "They got me thinking, I'm young, I should be a bit more adventurous."

Penny smiled. The irony of it dawned on Sarah. Here she was talking to a 51 year old stunner with the shortest hair imaginable, and she was thinking about being adventurous at 24.

"So how adventurous are you?" Penny asked.

Again Sarah was quiet.

"As adventurous as you decide" she replied. There, she had said it. The decision was out of her hands now.

"Okaaaaaaaaaay.....is there anything that you don't want me to do?"

"I don't think that I could cope with a perm".

"I promise not to give you a perm. Now is there anything else?"

"No."

"Okay then, missy, you'd better get yourself a gown on" Penny instructed.

Sarah picked the first gown on the rack and wrapped herself in it before sitting down again. Penny was still seated. She took one final drink of her tea and then reached forward, patting Sarah on the knee. She sat back again, for a final look.

"So, you ready?" she asked.

Sarah nodded. Penny stood up and brushed Sarah's hair out, gauging the full length of it. She reached for the scissors and turned the chair round so that Sarah was facing her. She placed the blades level with Sarah's chin, ready to cut. Sarah felt the slightest tug as they gripped her hair before meeting. Hair fell into her lap. This was it, no going back now. The scissors moved upwards, probably an inch or so and Penny quickly cut again. More hair fell. Penny looked for a reaction. There was none. Sarah sat resolutely still, her trust placed entirley in Penny's hands. Penny was impressed. She turned Sarah back to the mirror.

"So, what do you think so far?" she asked.

Sarah looked. Her hair the normal length on the left side, while on the right she had the beginnings of a Louise Brooks length bob. She said nothing, trying to take it all in.

"You're not helping me much here" Penny said.

"I'm sorry Penny. Really, I'm happy to let you do what you want. Whatever you think is best."

"Well, I know what I want to do from the salon's point of view." she said.

"That's fine, Penny."

"So you don't mind turning a few heads then?"

"I think that that is what I'm looking for actually."

"OK, if you're sure......." Penny turned the chair away from the mirror.

Before Sarah could say anything else, Penny had turned the clippers on. She placed them at Sarah's forehead. There was no pause for any further confirmation. The clippers slid effortlessly back across Sarah's scalp and then returned for another pass.

Penny bent down slightly. "Too late now" she said, smiling.

Sarah did her best to smile back, to let her know that she was OK with what was happening, but she wasn't sure how it came out. Penny carried on. All Sarah could think about was whether the clippers had a guard on. She found it impossible to tell and had taken so little notice of them before. Penny worked down the left side of Sarah's head, smoothly, confidently. Sarah was trying to find a mirror across the salon that was catching her reflection, but it was no use. She would have to wait.

The buzzing continued for a couple of minutes. Hair was gathering in Sarah's lap. An awful lot of hair. Penny was behind her now, working the clippers up the back of her head. She could feel them hugging the contours of her head as they progressed. Round to the right hand side now. It won't be long. Silence. Penny stood back. Looking. Sarah didn't know what she felt. Whatever Penny had just done was dramatic. There would be no more bobs for a long time. Whatever she had left would be minimal. Penny turned the chair to the mirror.

"Do you hate me?" she asked.

Sarah tried to take it in. There had been no guard. She had been shorn. Like a sheep. Worse than a sheep. There was nothing left. She moved her head to look at the side view as much as possible. That didn't help. She was still bald.

"We don't have to shave it completely, if you don't want" Penny said, unsure of what Sarah was thinking.

"So this is what you want clients to see when they come in?" Sarah asked quietly.

"You don't like it?" Penny said in an attempt to understand what Sarah thought.

"It'll take some getting used to" she said finally.

"It'll be quicker than you think. The first time I did it, I thought the same, but after a couple of hours I couldn't think of myself with long hair ever again."

Sarah felt something cool on her head. Foam. Penny was shaving her. Was this what she wanted? She'd come this far, she thought. Penny carried on. The razor was making short work of any bristles that were left. It actually felt quite relaxing. Sarah closed her eyes. All too soon, her head was being lightly rubbed with a towel. She was done. Penny stroked her scalp with her left hand, looking for any bits that she had missed. There were none.

"You look great" she said, turning Sarah back to the mirror so that she could see. Sarah said nothing at first, but was quietly pleased. Pleased with how it looked, but pleased with herself for actually doing it. Well, letting it be done. She rubbed a hand over her scalp. Then two hands.

"It feels so weird" she said.

"Amazing, is the word that I would use".

"I don't know what my boyfriend will think" Sarah said.

"If it doesn't turn him on, get rid of him" Penny said. "Most men would love their girlfriend to do what you have just done."

"What about you, Penny? What does yours think?"

"I have to ration him carefully. Have to think about his heart." she said with a smile. She paused."I'm glad you like it."

"What do you think the others will say?"

"I hope some of them will join you, to be honest".

"Really?"

"Why not?" Penny asked.

"I suppose you're right. You'd think that Sonia would be brave enough, if none of the others."

"Let's see shall we. Now, time for a quick drink? I think you've earned it" Penny said, unfastening the cape.

Sarah looked at herself again in the mirror, in her ordinary clothes. She couldn't help it. Her hand went back to her head, she stroked it.

"You'll wear it out" Penny called from the other side of the salon.

"I don't care" Sarah replied.

"Come on, we've got some heads to turn". Penny said, picking up her bag from the counter.

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