Every time Jeany went to get her hair cut at the local Haircut House she chickened out. She really wanted that short, short little boy’s haircut, with the side part and tapered sides and back. Jeany usually had her hair cut by Maria, who had in the past cut her hair much shorter than she had asked for. Maria liked to take her time with the cuts, but it usually ended up with her taking off a little too much. Even though Jeany knew this, she could never come out and ask for the super short cut she wanted.

Such a short cut wouldn?t look right at her job. She worked in a professional environment at the local bank. If she got the little boy?s cut she would probably be fired. Her boss, Tom the branch manager, was a real stickler about the dress code and expected all of the tellers to look their best. He prided himself on hiring only the prettiest girls to be tellers in his branch. Jeany?s finest asset was her thick auburn hair. A few other tellers had been let go in the past due to Tom?s distinct interpretation of the company dress code. Jeany knew the girls who got let go hadn?t gone too far; she remembered that one got fired for wearing skorts, which was actually shorts according to Tom and against the code, and the other girl was fired for shaving her head. Tom could not abide with the shaved head, even though she wore a wig every day to work and it wasn?t against the code to wear a wig. But he found a way to fire her by making sure she was caught breaking the rules for another reason. One day her teller drawer did not balance and he had placed a $5 bill in her trashcan, which he found and claimed she had put there to make her drawer balance. Jeany had overheard him bragging about it to the assistant branch manager and trashing her for having her head shaved. She put two and two together.

Today Jeany had an appointment with Maria for a trim. She kept her wavy auburn hair in a shoulder length bob with bangs. When she arrived at the shop, Maria was tied up with another client. Jeany had to wait and she grabbed a magazine. In the chair toward the back of the shop she noticed Annie, the girl from the branch who had shaved her head and got fired unfairly. Annie was getting a clipper shave and the haircutter was putting some muscle into the cut, clipping her down to the skin. Jeany thought about her boss Tom and his treatment of the employees in the office. She kept thinking it wasn?t fair about those girls getting fired. Tom is such a prick she thought, he really treated them badly. She wanted to go through with getting a super short cut. Tough if she was fired, she was sick of Tom.

Maria called her over to the chair to do a consultation before the shampoo. Maria played with her auburn hair, and asked her what kind of cut she wanted. Before she knew it, Jeany was saying she wanted a short little boy?s cut, shaved over the ears and on her neck. She would take whatever Tom dished out to her; she was ready to take him on. Too bad if he fired her, she could get a job somewhere else. Maria smiled with surprise and agreed that it would look good on her, and she started to cape up Jeany without a shampoo. Maria asked her what made her want such a short cut; Jeany replied she was ready for a change. Maria smiled and seemed happy to take on the request.

Maria started by cutting off six inches of wavy auburn hair straight across her neck with her scissors, reducing the bob to a short chin length bob. Then she wet the hair with her spray bottle and began cutting, picking up big locks and cutting them at finger length against her scalp, and also running the scissors over her ears and again on her neck. Maria reduced the hair quickly to a short cut, leaving about an inch of length at the sides and two inches on top. Jeany?s auburn locks fell in her lap and on her feet. Maria trimmed in short bangs about two inches over Jeany?s eyebrows created a side part. Maria dried her hair with the hairdryer and then clicked on her clippers. Jeany was excited to hear them start up; she was looking forward to this short cut. The clippers zipped along her hairline as Maria skillfully tapered in the cut. She buzzed in short sideburns, and took the taper high on her head, up to her temples. It was a really short cut, and Jeany?s wavy hair would not co-operate, she had an alfalfa cowlick at her crown that would not lie down. The strands were stubborn, and Maria rubbed in some gel to help style the cut and hold down the cowlick leaving a slicked back wet look. Her head felt cool and light and she couldn?t wait to see the look on Tom?s face when she went in to work the next day. She felt her neck and the hairs felt so soft and bristly, it was worth it. Jeany smiled, she felt so happy to finally have her little boys cut. She paid for the cut and tipped Maria generously.

The next day Jeany dressed up in her best work outfit, a two-piece suit in mauve with a white collar. Her new short hair was slicked back with gel, parted on the side and she had on her best earrings. It was a perfect little boy?s cut. It brought out her features, her long neck, and she looked stunning. She entered the branch and walked directly up to Tom, and handed him her resignation. It was her self-respect at stake. She was ready to move on with her life. Maria looked back at Tom on her way out, and said, ?So how do you like my hair??