The Barber took a deep breath. It felt like he'd been waiting for Colin and Louis to make a decision for weeks. He was about to close his shop, actually, when the boys finally turned around.
"So, uh, Mr. Barber," said Colin nervously, "We were thinking, and we've decided that you can work on our hair some more."
"Even if it is really short," piped in Louis, rubbing his fuzzy blonde buzzcut for emphasis.
The Barber nodded. "Well, don't worry, boys. Length won't be a problem. Now, how about you get back into those chairs?"
Gesturing to the salon sink chairs at the back of the store, the Barber led Colin and Louis to the seats and tilted their heads back, before turning on the water and soaking their baby-blonde buzzcuts with warm water. Humming to himself, the Barber slowly lathered up their hair.
Colin and Louis squirmed as the barber lathered up their hair slowly and deliberately. Their scalps were tingling pleasantly as the barber massaged their heads. Dopey smiles formed on their faces as they closed their eyes, content to let the Barber wash their hair. It just felt so good to sit there and relax, to be pampered.
As the Barber washed Colin and Louis' hair, the amount of lather on their scalps was steadily increasing. The Barber started to adjust the amount of shampoo he was using, adding in more and more dollops of a scented, emerald-green shampoo. The scent of sparkling emerald springs hung heavy in the air, the perfumed aroma all Colin and Louis could smell. Not that they cared, of course. When each youth had about a foot of lather on their head, sticking out in all directions, the barber rinsed out the shampoo, revealing Colin and Louis' new hair.
Their baby-blonde, less-than-half-inch buzzcuts, had been replaced by flowing blonde locks. Their golden tresses were long, even for a girl, and flowed downwards to the middle of their backs. Even wet, the strands were thick and full, their manes almost as wide as their shoulders. Neither Colin nor Louis noticed or objected to the Barber putting up their new hair up in white linen towels, leading the pair to salon chairs in front of mirrors, slowly sitting them down. When the Barber removed the towels wrapped around their blonde hair, they looked at their reflections in shock. Something about their hair didn't seem right....
Noticing this, the Barber patted Colin's head. "What's wrong, Colin?" Asked the Barber helpfully.
"...My hair," started Colin. "It's really...long."
The Barber nodded. "Yes, your hair is quite long. Is that a problem?"
Colin shook his head, long blonde hair swishing back and forth as he moved his head. "No...it's just that I think that....it used to be shorter."
"You're hair's always looked like this," said the Barber.
"But..." said Colin.
The Barber wrapped a few of Colin's golden-blonde strands around his finger, and tickled Colin's nose with it. "If you're so sure about your hair, then how did it use to look like?"
Colin opened his mouth to complain some more, but squirmed a little as the Barber tickled his nose with his hair, making thinking hard. He quickly lost his train of thought. "I can't remember."
"You can't remember, because your hair's always been long," said the Barber.
Colin squirmed a little in his chair, as memories of his old hairstyle left his head, replaced by memories of growing up with long, blonde hair. As far as he was concerned, he'd always been growing out his blonde hair.
"Of course Louis and I have long hair," blurted out Colin.
"We've always had long hair," echoed Louis.
"And I think it's about time we updated your look, boys," said the Barber. "Any objections?"
Both youths shook their heads, long blonde manes swaying as they did. With their permission granted, the Barber rummaged through his drawers and pulled out a spray-bottle, and filled it with a clear liquid. The Barber circled around his clients, spritzing their blonde locks. The liquid smelled fragrant, similar to the emerald springs shampoo. As it dried on their manes, it almost gave their hair a reddish sheen...
Putting down his spritz bottle, the Barber pulled out a brush with many teeth on his, and began to meticulously brush and comb their hair. Only, instead of becoming straightened out, their hair began to change even more. Slowly but surely, the Barber transformed the boy's hair. Their blonde locks began to slowly twist and turn, starting at the root of the follicle, and the tip of the hair shaft; a double-pronged approach. Their straight tresses twisted more and more, until their manes developed very loose waves.
The Barber wasn't satisfied with loose waves, though. He continued to brush and brush, the waves in their hair becoming more developed and intense. The texture and thickness of their hair wasn't the only thing to change, though. Every pass of the brush made the reddish tint in their blonde hair more intense. From blonde, to strawberry blonde, to gingery-coppery, the boy's hair began to slowly become redder and redder. And still, the barber continued to brush. Their wavy, coppery manes began to twist at the ends, their tresses slowly beginning to curl. Their ginger locks began to take on a deeper, richer, color. Coppery hair slowly gave way to a rich, deep, ruby. The Barber wasn't satisfied with simple curly hair, though. He wanted to change them even further. Thicker and thicker, curlier and curlier, Colin and Louis' ruby-red tresses coiled and curled even more, becoming tight ringlets. Their hair had become so thick and curly that their hair was wider than their shoulders now. The intense curl of their ringlets made their hair look a little shorter, reaching only to their shoulderblades.
Eventually, Colin and Louis came to, and both smiled at their reflections. They both patted at their gorgeous ringlets, both in love with their big and poofy curls. As far as either boy was aware, they had always looked like this. Their hair had always been red, and had always been big and curly.
"Thank you," said Colin. "Our hair looks so good now. We don't just let anyone touch our hair, you know."
Louis smiled at Colin and patted his hair, running his hand through his rich curls. The two blushed at each other, before addressing the Barber again.
"Will that be all? I think that we're ready to leave," said Louis.
The Barber shook his head. "No. I still have one more thing to do."
Before either boy could ask him what he was planning to do, he pumped their salon chairs, raising them up higher and higher from the floor. Each pumped changed them more and more.
Colin and Louis' fair skin became even more pale. Almost milky. A smattering of freckles appeared on the bridge of their noses. Their ears became a bit more elfin in appearance, although this was hard to tell with their ringlets covering up their ears. Their features became finer, cuter. Their eyes became a rich, emerald green, innocently glimmering . The most dramatic changes, though, came with the final pumps. They shrank a little, their already-cute features becoming more youthful. The last traces of hair on their arms, legs, and armpits completely disappeared, leaving them smooth. Their members diminished, and shrank even more, becoming tight and snug. Their ruby-red hair shifted to a rich, burgundy shade, practically the color of wine. They had become a pair of innocent 5th graders, the only hints of puberty coming up being their slightly large hands and feet, and the fact that they were tall for their age.
Colin blinked, before batting a burgundy-red ringlet out of his face. He could've sworn that something had just happened. He looked over at Lee and smiled. Wait, Lee? He furrowed his cute brow for a second, before smiling. Of course Lee was called Lee. It was a proper name for an Irish-American. Just like how he was called Colin.
"Is everything alright, Colin?" Asked the Barber with concern.
"Oh, everything is fine, sir," said Colin with the utmost politeness. My friend and I are ready to go, though.
Nodding, the Barber took off their tarps, revealing that they were both dressed in emerald green blazers and slacks, with red ties. An emblem of a private school was embroidered on the left breast pocket.
The freckled boys each politely shook the Barber's hand. "Thank you for the hair styling," said Louis, with a curt nod of his head.
Colin bowed his head, red ringlets bouncing as he did. "Exactly as we asked for.'
The Barber gave a wide grin. "By all means, please do! It was a pleasure working on your hair, and I'd love for you two to return."
"Then we shall," grinned Colin, before innocently taking Lee's hand into his. The pair walked out of the store and into a limo. For studying together during break, of course.
The Barber smiled as the pair walked out. He noticed that the two could hardly keep their eyes off of each other, both clearly enamored by one other. Especially by their new hair. The Barber rubbed his hands together. He'd be sure to give them another fun change if they returned. When they returned.