"I wanna stay six," you said after some deliberation. You didn't want to change things up too much. You just spent the last four years as a toddler, jumping back into adulthood would be a bit of a shock at this point.
"That's a very good choice, Mikey. Looks like you're going to be playing tee-ball after all," said the barber as he ruffled your shoulder-length hair. "Now, would you like for me to pick a hairstyle more suitable for your age? I promise you I won't buzz your hair again. Well, unless you want me to."
You shook your head. "No buzzcuts! And I don't want long hair."
"So, something more...balanced?"
You nodded, bangs tickling your cheeks as you did.
"Alright, then. Let's get started. I don't want to keep your mother waiting, and this shouldn't take too long."
The barber sat you down in a salon chair and ran the sink. He tilted your head into the basin, and the warm water wetting your hair was comforting. He left you there for a while, as he browsed his products. Choosing what he thought would make you look your best.
He grinned as he pulled out a shampoo bottle with a loud, yellow color and a white bottle of coconut conditioner. He got to work on your hair, building it up to a thick lather. He let the shampoo sit for a while and started to massage your scalp.
"Looking forward to kindergarten, Mikey?"
"It'll be better than diapers," you said.
"Oh, I agree," chuckled the barber. "I'm so sorry about that, Mikey."
You retorted with an "Uh-huh."
"I really am! That's why this cut is going to be so much better. I'm a firm believer in customer satisfaction, you know."
Before you could respond, the barber rinsed out your hair. Now that your hair was nice and clean, it was time condition your hair. He smiled as he applied the rich, moisturizing conditioner. With a little something extra. A label that proudly boasted about color-depositing properties. The same went for the shampoo.
After a while longer of waiting, your hair was finally rinsed out. Looking thicker than ever. Feeling softer than ever. And the color had changed! Your hair had gone paler. A lot paler. Almost silvery, going on platinum-blonde. Of course, with your head tilted back in the basin, you couldn't see the difference yourself until the barber toweled off your hair to a workable dampness. You blinked in surprise as you saw a few of the lighter strands in the corners of your eyes, distracting you as the barber clipped a cape around you. "Don't want any hairs bothering you or falling down your shirt."
You were about to say something, but the barber gently shushed you and went to work. First, your thick and finely-textured hair was brushed out to perfect straightness. Pale-blonde hair fell into your vision. "Sorry about that, I know wet hair's not the most pleasant feeling in the world, hold on."
The barber sectioned off the hair on top of your head. He clipped the damp strands into place, and he then proceeded to make a mechanically perfect guideline that went a bit above your occipital protuberance. He reached over to where his tools were and got out his clippers and pre-emptively assuaged your fears. "I'm not going to buzz you, Mikey. I wouldn't have bothered to tie back your hair, if that was the case."
That made sense, so you felt calm as the barber made deliberate passes through the lower half of your hair. The clippers practically sang as they mowed down the hair your mother had been keeping a meticulous shoulder-length. Corn-silk-colored hair fell to the floor in piles. The barber had given the shorn fuzz only enough length to keep the skin on your nape and sides from being visible. Nodding in approval, he made a few final adjustments on the short strands adorning the back of your head. After a few minute nudges of his clippers, he had worked the fuzz into a gentle, tapered, V-shaped point.
"We're almost done," said the barber as he unclipped your hair. The uncut strands fell in a tumult, and you could hear the snipping of scissors. He was working fast, cutting any errant strands that fell past the guideline. This was a uniform haircut. With no layers or texturing. As your new hairstyle took shape, a realization dawned upon you. He was giving you a bowl-cut! Not that! Anything but that!
"I don't wanna a bowlcut!" You said as you crossed your arms and pouted.
The barber kept cutting. "Well, Mikey, maybe I can take some of the edge off? Here, let me fix those bangs."
The barber leaned in more closely and made adjustments to your bangs. Instead of an uncompromising ruler-straight fringe, he had worked them into a gentle arch. Your bangs started just under your eyes now, and the fringe framed them before reaching an eyebrow-length vertex. That calmed you down. It gave your hairstyle a look that was a touch more sensitive. It also made your eyes look bigger and more inquisitive.
You exhaled. That was better. As you took in your new appearance, you could hear the barber turning on a hair dryer. Dusting off little bristly strands from your shaved nape, and longer blonde strands off the barber cape. In no time at all, your hair was completely dry. The warm air had made your bowl-cut look a little more poofy and voluminous. Combined with your hair’s new corn silk color, you looked like a new you. You looked ready for kindergarten.
You were studying your reflection so intently, that you didn't notice the barber smirking to himself. Nor did you notice your mother! She ran a hand through your bowl-cut. "Oh, that's a great look for you, honey. I love it."
You smiled, and then looked up. Your mother looked...different. Her hair was the same shade of blonde as yours now, and had been styled into a wedged bob with an undercut and shaved nape of her own. She gently ran her long nails through your bowl-cut, and then paid the barber. "Come on, Mikey, we have to get you some school supplies."
You were about to comment about her new look, but you nodded instead, and followed her outside of the barbershop. Your grownup memories were fading just like before. In no time at all, everything felt right. You smiled at your reflection one last time before you followed your mother to her car. You were so looking forward to kindergarten.