by J. Dillard
“Oh my god! There he is!” someone yelled out.
Everyone turned and looked at the ballroom entrance.
It was Li’l Eazy Breezy, the kid rapper whose new TikTok challenge, “The Breezy Slide,” had gone viral. I never thought I’d actually get to see him up close. We were having dinner together, even if he was sitting at another table!
Li’l Eazy Breezy was only three years older than me, but everyone knew who he was.
He had 360 waves in his head and wore skinny jeans with the latest pair of Yeezys.
Li’l Eazy Breezy took his seat at the front of the ballroom next to a huge security guard. I think the other people around him were his parents and a manager or something.
Holly Williams walked to the stage. She grabbed the microphone stand and bent it down to her face.
“Welcome to this year’s Midsummer Beauty Brothers Hair Show in Atlanta, Georgia!” she yelled.
The crowd clapped and cheered. Some people even clinked their glasses with a spoon.
“This year’s theme is The Digital GLAM Experience!” Miss Williams continued. “We have so many wonderful barbers and stylists of all ages here who will teach our attendees how to boost their profiles through social media.”
I felt proud. I was one of the “wonderful barbers” Miss Williams was talking about.
“First, I would like to start by thanking this year’s diamond, gold, and bronze sponsors. Secondly, we would like to thank our yearly donors. Last, but not least, we would like to thank our exhibitors because without you, this wouldn’t be possible. And a special shout-out to this year’s guest of honor, Li’l Eazy Breezy!”
The melody of “The Breezy Slide” started to play in the background, and Li’l Eazy Breezy himself stood up and did a few steps. The crowd roared!
As soon as Li’l Eazy Breezy sat down, a bunch of waiters entered the room and took our orders. The choices were printed on a little card in front of us:
Main Course
Barbecue cauliflower with corn on the cob and vegan cornbread
Steak with mashed potatoes and green beans
Roasted quail with yellow rice
Dessert
Red velvet cake
Butter pound cake
Vanilla bean sorbet with mango slices
I turned to mom.
“What’s quail?” I asked.
“It’s a type of bird, kinda like chicken, but with less meat and more bone.”
Why would anyone want less meat and more bone? When the waiter asked me for my order, I told him I wanted steak with mashed potatoes and a slice of pound cake for dessert. That sounded like something Grandma and Granddad would make.
There were five chairs at the table, and soon they were filled. There were two women who looked about Mom’s age. One lady had a curly tapered haircut that was shaved down on the sides. She had even dyed her curls orange! The other lady had long box braids down to her waist. It seemed like they were friends.
Then the person sitting next to me spoke up.
“Hello, young man.” He had dark skin, black glasses, an extra-low fade, and a goatee. “There aren’t that many kids here. You must do something extra special.”
He chuckled a little as he said that.
“Well, sir, I cut hair. I go by ‘J.D. the Kid Barber,’ ” I said, pointing to my name tag.
“Oh, wow, that’s different. How old are you, may I ask?”
“Eight!”
The man leaned back in his chair and whistled. “When I was eight, I barely knew how to buckle the belt on my pants. You’re out here cutting hair! That’s quite an accomplishment, young man.”
Mom laughed to herself as she patted me on the head.
“I’m sorry, Miss, I should’ve introduced myself to you first. Are you his mother?” the man asked.
“I sure am,” Mom said.
“I’m Timothy Smalls. I work in marketing for a new social media platform called Jiggy,” he said.
Just as Mr. Smalls handed Mom his business card, our dinner arrived.
The steak didn’t exactly look like what we ate at home. But the pound cake did, and I was eager to eat it. Mom had ordered the barbecue cauliflower. I remembered reading about vegan food after Jessyka said her dad wanted to try it. The cornbread was vegan, which meant it was made without milk, butter, or eggs.
“Would you like to try some?” Mom asked, lifting the yellow square on her fork toward me.
I shook my head and cut into my steak.
Mr. Smalls ordered the quail. Just like Mom had said, it looked like a very tiny chicken!
Slowly and one by one, people got up and left the ballroom when they finished dinner. Some stayed in the hallway outside to talk more. I turned toward the stage to try to find Li’l Eazy Breezy. I had to get a picture with him, and now seemed like a good time. Who knew if he’d be free tomorrow when there was so much to do. Vanessa had asked me to bring her back a new comb or beads from the show, but I knew a photo with Li’l Eazy Breezy would be better.
But Li’l Eazy Breezy’s table was empty. I had missed him!
Mom checked the time on her cell phone and then tapped me on the head.
“J.D., you have a looong day tomorrow. Let’s head back to the room so you get enough rest.”
I nodded, got up, and slowly pushed in my chair. Even Mom had managed to make a new connection with Mr. Smalls, and she wasn’t even here for business. I wondered if I’d get another chance tomorrow to get that picture.
CHAPTER 5
Action Packed
I had never slept in a bed so comfortable. Back home, I was lucky enough to have my own room and bed. My sister liked to bunk with my mom, and Justin always chose to sleep with my grandparents. My bed was fine, but sleeping on this one was like sleeping on a marshmallow. I was so relaxed, I dreamed of cutting Li’l Eazy Breezy’s hair. It started out fine, with me redoing his 360 waves. But then his hair kept growing fast, and I couldn’t keep up! It ended up being kinda scary.
Mom shook me awake. She had ordered breakfast for us to eat on the terrace, and she wanted to go over my schedule together.
I went to the bathroom to wipe down my face first. When I came back out, I grabbed a chocolate chip muffin and some fresh orange juice. I sat down to look at the day ahead.
BEAUTY BROTHERS
DAY 1—CULTURE ’N’ BEAUTY
8:00 a.m. REGISTRATION
8:30 a.m. BREAKFAST
10:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m. SHOWROOM OPEN
10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. CLASSES
Barbering
Three-Degree Fading with Yann Mellow
(10 a.m., RM B-105)
Hair Design with Londen Brown
(12 p.m., RM B-107)
The Perfect Cut with Stacey Kutz
(2 p.m., RM C-108)
Business
Barberpreneurship with R.B. Benson
(11 a.m., RM B-109)
How to Become a Barbershop Owner
with Christina Goree (3 p.m., RM D-206)
How to Get New Clients and Keep Them
with Josiah Jam (6 p.m., RM D-309)
Hairdressing
Silk Press with Hosea Hicks
(10 a.m., RM G-201)
Wash and Set with Hillary Tate
(1 p.m., RM G-202)
Natural Hair Maintenance with Kevin Kirk
(6 p.m., RM G-301)
Makeup
Eyelashes for Everyone with Ulysses Is Hands On
(1 p.m., RM E-001)
Skin Toning 101 with Fredericka Ball
(2 p.m., RM E-102)
Makeup for Beginners with Halle Smith
(5 p.m., RM E-103)
Nails
New Age Nail Art with Theresa Nyu
gen
(10 a.m., RM F-101)
Nail Health with Rosa Peña
(12 p.m., RM F-206)
The Perfect Pedicure with Ally Mann
(4 p.m., RM F-301)
2:00 p.m. BARBER COMPETITIONS
POWERED BY SMOOTH CUTS RAZORS
Best adult haircut in 45 minutes or less, judged by Christina Goree, Yann Mellow, and Josiah Jam. Everyone can participate! Audience votes calculated by texting Votes to 2221. Don’t Miss It! Winner receives $10,000, a trophy, and a year’s supply of products from Smooth Cuts Razors.
3:00 p.m. JUNIOR SHOWCASE
POWERED BY SMOOTH CUTS RAZORS
Fade and Design with J.D. The Kid Barber
Man Units with Isabel Is Incredible
9:00 p.m. LIVE PERFORMANCE BY
LI’L EAZY BREEZY
I think any other kid would look at this schedule and freak out. But not me. My family always had a lot of activities going on, like school, church, weekly bible study, sports, and our jobs. And when school was out, Vanessa and I were put into the Evans Summer School, which was basically homeschooling by my granddad, Mr. Slayton Evans.
The kids in my class had busy schedules, too. My friend Jessyka even had a color-coded calendar to keep track of everything. I thought about how much she would love New Age Nail Art and how Vanessa would probably want to attend Natural Hair Maintenance.
And somewhere in this timeline, I needed to figure out how to meet Li’l Eazy Breezy to make up for last night. I wished I could be at multiple places at once! Maybe I could clone myself like in that old episode of Spider-Man I saw on YouTube when Spider-Man had an evil double chasing after him.
On the bottom of the page, in tiny print, there was an extra note from Ms. Holly Williams.
Dear J.D.,
This is the itinerary for the general public. A special chaperone will guide you through your day. Please be ready by 10:00 a.m.
I looked over at the hotel clock on the nightstand, and it was 9:00 a.m. I had one hour to get ready for my big day!
* * *
• • •
At ten on the dot, I heard a soft knock on the door. Mom opened it to find a lady who looked a little younger than Naija, my best friend Jordan’s brother. Naija had just finished college and was a good home barber, too.
“Hi, my name is Tabitha Johns, and I’m going to be your chaperone this weekend. I’ll introduce you to everyone you need to know to have a successful weekend here. I’ll make sure you’re set up for your demo this afternoon and answer any questions you may have.”
Tabitha wore oversized glasses. She had long kinky, curly hair that she tucked behind her ears. She explained that she was in her last year of cosmetology school and couldn’t wait to start working in a salon.
“For your demo today, you’ll be featured alongside another young person,” she said. “We will be providing you with a hair model.”
I thought about what happened the last time I had a surprise model. It was at the Great Barber Battle, and it made beating Henry Jr. so much harder! I liked knowing what I could expect.
“If I see someone in the crowd who wants to be my hair model, can I use them instead?” I asked.
“Hmm, I guess so. But I imagine they’d have to agree and sign a simple waiver at the booth,” Tabitha said.
Aside from the demo, that was my biggest challenge for the day. And getting a photo with Li’l Eazy Breezy. This was starting to feel more like a scavenger hunt than a hair show.
Tabitha and Mom talked about some other details while I loaded up my backpack with the tools I’d brought from back home in Meridian, including the extra clippers Smooth Cuts gifted me. Having a backup pair of clippers was another thing I learned from the barber battle I won against Henry Jr. I always wanted to have two on me if I could.
I smoothed out my slacks. I also had on a black blazer with a button-down shirt and Batman logo socks with black Air Max 720s. Jordan had put together this look at the mall.
My mom’s cell phone rang. When she looked at her home screen to see who it was, she turned to Tabitha.
“Ms. Tabitha, could you give us a moment, please?” she asked.
“Sure, Ms. Jones, I’ll be right outside.”
Tabitha closed the door, and Mom handed the phone to me.
It was my dad! Just like he said!
“Good morning, J.D. How’s my son today?”
I tried to call my dad whenever I did something special. He knew I had won a barber competition, and he told me he recorded the local television interview I went on with my sister and our friends. “I showed it to your Grandma Susan and your Aunt Pam,” he had told me.
“I’m good, Dad. I have a busy day today. I’m doing a hair design and fade showcase at three o’clock!”
I told him about the meet-and-greet last night and how we got picked up in a limo.
“I’ll try to be there for you today, son. If I can get out of this weekend auditing job, I’ll drop by. But either way, I wanted to make sure I spoke to you before you hit the stage,” he said.
Mom and Dad had split up a few years ago, and Mom, Justin, Vanessa, and I moved in with my grandparents. That was at the same time that Mom tried being a nursing student and then changed to being a business school student. Now it finally felt like the ground wasn’t shifting under our feet anymore. We weren’t always worried about what would change next, and I was seeing Mom a lot now that she worked at the mayor’s office. I was talking to Dad more on the phone, too.
After I hung up with my dad, it was time to hit the Beauty Brothers floor. I was ready to show everyone what J.D. the Kid Barber could do!
CHAPTER 6
The Amazing Show
Tabitha walked me and Mom down to the convention center. Inside, she stopped at two double doors. “J.D., welcome to the showroom!”
When I looked out, I had the same feeling I had on Christmas morning. Every Christmas, my senses would be overwhelmed by all the presents under the tree and so many good-smelling things cooking in the kitchen. I never knew where to start!
There were dozens upon dozens of people holding hair products on trays. I watched as clouds of hairspray puffed in the air, mixing with the powder flying off the necks of the models getting their hair cut. Through the fog, I spotted one of my favorite Instagram barbers, Colorful Kris, who was known for doing freestyle designs with colors. He sketched out designs by hand, and after he cut them into his client’s heads, he colored in each shape with organic colored pencils. I needed to get his autograph.
I might be the best barber in Meridian, or maybe even Mississippi, but I saw now that the barber world was bigger than anything I could have imagined.
“Ms. Tabitha, can I say hi to Colorful Kris?”
“Sure,” she replied.
Up close, I could see that Colorful Kris had a cool fade with multiple colors. It almost looked like his head was a rainbow cake. Even his clothes were bright. He had on an orange tie-dye shirt with pink jeans and powder-blue shoes.
“Hi, Colorful Kris! I’m J.D. the Kid Barber, and I’m your biggest fan,” I told him. “I started doing color after looking at your Instagram.”
“That’s dope, little man,” he said. He put down the papers he was holding and walked closer to me.
“Can my mom take our picture?” I asked.
Colorful Kris laughed. “No problem, my dude,” he said.
Colorful Kris put his arm around me, and my mom took a picture on her phone. I hoped she took a few in case I blinked.
“Thanks, Colorful Kris! Can I ask you one more thing?”
He nodded and cupped his ear like he was trying to hear me better.
“Are your colored pencils for sale?”
Colorful Kris picked up a box and inspected it. Then he looked at me and smiled.
&nb
sp; “They are, but since you’re my biggest fan and you’re already doing hair at your age, I’ll gift you a set.”
Mom reached inside her purse to pull out her wallet.
“No, ma’am. Your money’s no good here!” He tossed the box of pencils to me. “But if someone asks what tools you’re working with, I’d appreciate if you’d tell them you’re working with Colorful Kris’s Organic Hair Art Pencils. And tag me on social media, if you have it.”
This was the best feeling I’d had since I opened a box from my Uncle Hal, and instead of just old clothes from my cousins, he had put a set of clippers inside!
Mom and I thanked Colorful Kris one more time before we followed Tabitha around the floor.
There was so much about cutting hair that I didn’t know! We walked by people using clippers with blades I’d never seen. Others were using barber shears to make styles that were new to me, like something called a “comb-over.”
We stopped at a beard oil booth. It was next to a person styling dreadlocks using neon colors. I hadn’t trimmed a beard yet. Most of my clients were kids with bald faces. I always thought that an advantage I had was my head start, but who knows. Maybe these people cut hair when they were kids, too. I wasn’t feeling all that special anymore.
To distract myself, I started scanning the crowd for a model for my demo. Almost everyone who passed by us already had an amazing hairstyle. I guess that made sense—who would show up to a hair show without a clean edge-up?
But just then, the crowd parted around a man holding the hand of a boy who seemed a little bit younger than me. The boy definitely didn’t have a fresh new haircut.
“Hey, Mom, that kid needs my help,” I said while pointing. “Can you ask the man he’s with if the boy wants to be my model for the hair demo?”
Mom put her hand on my forearm and pressed it down.
“Pointing is rude, J.D.,” she said. “And do you really want me to ask a stranger that question?”
Her eyebrows arched when she said “that question.”
I nodded with a lot of excitement so she’d see that I was serious.