The barber works so quickly your eyes can barely keep up. He cuts, trims, and combs your hair with the pace and confidence of a true professional. As he works, though, you notice something strange. For all the cutting he's doing, your hair doesn't look any shorter at all. You have to blink a few times to be certain...it actually looks longer.
"Excuse me?" you say meekly. "Um, excuse me?"
"Almost done, almost done," he says, never taking his eyes off your hair. As the scissors and comb dance through it, it starts to fluff out, looking longer and thicker than you've ever seen it. The barber pulls a spray bottle off the counter and spritzes you with a fine mist. As he continues to spray, your hair seems to change color. Getting worried, you try to talk to him again, but he seems to not notice.
He switches back to the scissors and comb and continues his work. Each "cut" he makes extends your locks a little more. He makes a quick but careful cut straight across your forehead, and suddenly hair falls over your eyes.
"Stop!" you shout, surprising yourself with how forceful you sound. The barber's flying hands freeze in mid-stroke and he looks at you through the mirror.
"Somethin' the matter?" he asks.
"Yeah. What are you doing?"
"Givin' you a hairstyling! That's what you wanted, in't it?"
"I just wanted a trim."
"The coupon you gave me was fer a free 'hairstyling.' It never said what kind of style."
You look at him through the thin veil of hairs covering your eyes, astonished. "What? But..."
"I'll stop right now, if you'd like. But a real haircut will cost you thirty dollars."
You suppress the urge to scoff out loud. You can get a much cheaper cut at your usual hairdresser, which is where you suspect you'll be heading very soon to undo what this guy just did.
"I'd like to stop, please. Thank you."
With a slightly dejected look, the barber pulls the covering off you and bids you a good day.
You walk toward the entrance, but stop briefly to take a quick look at your hair in one of the mirrors. It's now a light brown color, looking soft with a little shine. It reaches just past your shoulder blades in back. In the front, it has a layered look. The longest locks fall from behind your ears and rest on top of your chest and shoulders. The hair gets progressively shorter around your face, and is crowned off with bangs that cover your forehead and reach just past your eyes. It has an overall shaggy appearance since you didn't let him finish the job. You comb it with your fingers for a few seconds, but don't make much difference. You brush your bangs and manage to sort them out so they don't completely cover your eyes.
The hair makes you look somewhat effeminate. You're too embarrassed and frustrated to stare at it any longer. You turn on your heels and walk out of the shop. The sooner this mop is off your head, the better you'll feel.