by J. Dillard
“I’ll tell you what. Why don’t we go over there together, and you can introduce yourself and give your pitch. I’ll be there to support you.” Mom put her hand on my shoulder. “Does that sound fair, my young entrepreneur?”
I shrugged. I guess it did.
Mom and I walked over to the man. I explained that I was a kid barber who was invited to do a demo at the show, and I’d be honored if I could work on the boy’s hair, since he was rocking a shadow fade that hadn’t been touched in at least three weeks.
The man laughed, and the boy rubbed his own neck.
“Mikey, what do you say?” he asked the boy. “You know I’m sorry I didn’t have time to get you a haircut after I picked you up from your mom’s house yesterday. J.D. the Kid Barber says he can make it right. Do you want to give him a shot?”
Mikey looked at me like I was a space alien. I hadn’t sold him on it yet.
“Mikey, I have a lot of experience with kid hair. My first client was my baby brother, Justin, and he’s a happy customer.” I ran my hand across my fade with my half-moon part. “And you see my hair? I did it myself!”
Eventually, Mikey loosened up.
“Okay, J.D.,” he said. “I’ll see you at three o’clock.”
I felt more confident about my demo instantly. Now that I had found a model, I could relax.
I turned to Ms. Tabitha. “Is it okay for me to take one of the classes I read about on the schedule?”
“Well, J.D., these are adult classes, and we don’t want to be late for your demo,” she said.
I squeezed Mom’s hand, and she assured Tabitha it wouldn’t be a problem. I took out my schedule and traced my finger along the line that said “Hair Design with Londen Brown.” We had time to look at a few more booths and stop for a snack break before the class started at noon. I might be in a room full of people who were better than me, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t learn how to get on their level.
CHAPTER 7
Head of the Class
Londen Brown’s classroom was nothing like any of the classrooms at Sunday school or Douglass Elementary. First, the room was huge! There was a podium at the front, almost like what Pastor Harris used. An overhead projector made it possible for people in the back rows to see Londen Brown and his headset. There were even two camera people filming, one up close to Londen Brown and one focused on the audience.
A line of people waited outside, but because I was with Tabitha, I walked right in and sat in the front row. Mom decided to keep wandering around the showroom floor, since Tabitha was with me.
Once everyone found a seat, Londen Brown came out. He had a two-toned colored fade with a moon part in the middle. The whole audience got quiet so he could start.
“Hello, and welcome to Londen Brown’s hair design seminar at Beauty Brothers! First, stand up and give yourself a round of applause for investing in your career and continuing your education.Everyone in this room is already committed to being better just by being here.”
I joined everyone in the room and clapped for myself, too. I was here to do my demo and show people my skills, but I was just as excited to learn new things that would help me be a master barber one day. Sitting in this class was like reading ten books, probably. I loved feeding my brain.
“I was once a student, just wanting to know if anyone would ever care about these wild ideas I had about hair.”
Londen Brown spoke a little bit about how he got started as a barber and why he wanted to do hair design.
“It was a toss-up between going to art school and getting my barber’s license, so I decided to combine both of my interests,” he said.
That was just like me! I was an artist and great at doing hair. I was good at math, too.
“Who wants to be my model today?” Londen Brown asked. About half the crowd raised their hands. I was too nervous to do it, plus I wanted to watch carefully. A person who had been sitting on the stage with a microphone picked out a lady who had curly hair that spilled over to the side.
“What is your name, brave lady?”
“Sara!”
“Where are you from?”
“New York!”
“What brings you to the South?”
“Just trying to learn something new to take back to my clients!” Sara said.
Londen Brown parted the lady’s hair and went to work. He explained that the hair he was not going to cut he would put up into a bun.
“The rest of the hair that’s exposed, I will be cutting down,” he said.
As Londen Brown cut, he continued to speak into his headset. He buzzed down the hair that was not in a bun until it was short enough to cut his design.
“Londen, can you explain how this technique can make more business for folks?” the moderator asked.
“This model will be finished in forty-five minutes, tops! That means you can fit in seven heads in an eight-hour day.”
Londen said we could take out our calculators to check the math if we needed to.
“If each style takes about forty-five minutes to complete, and clients usually book a full hour, what could you do with the remaining fifteen minutes that could help you increase the amount of money you make in one appointment?”
“Color and design!” someone yelled out.
“Yes, if it’s forty-five minutes to cut, a design and color can take up the rest of the hour, and you can charge extra for it. Instead of just thirty to forty dollars an hour, you can make an extra fifty dollars or so in take-home pay. Remember, the client usually books for an hour no matter what, so use up the entire hour.”
“Sara, do you have anything in particular in mind today?”
“No, Londen, do you!” she replied.
“Do you spell your name with an H?”
“No H, Londen.”
Londen put down his clippers and homed in on Sara’s head with a trimmer. In about ten minutes, he sketched out the letters S-A-R-A and added a flower next to the last A. Then he spun Sara around in the chair for the whole room to see.
“It takes time to get good at these techniques, but if you master them, it’s a new skill you can offer your clients.”
The crowd gasped at Londen’s work.
“Now, let’s spend the last few minutes on questions,” he said.
“Why do you use that brand of clippers?” asked a young man in a tracksuit with a hi-top.
“XYZ precision clippers have a built-in cooling mechanism that allow me to cut both wet and dry hair. That way I can work even faster if I have already washed the hair.”
I thought about how much Londen did to shorten the time it took to cut so he could add more services and get more money. I imagined how he probably had a whole room in his house for all the comics he could buy.
Then the moderator put her microphone in front of an older lady with salt-and-pepper hair, who was wearing a blazer and jeans, almost like what I was wearing.
“How do you use your trimmer to create detail in your design?”
“I use the corner tip of the blade to create clean lines instead of going over it multiple times, and I use a holding spray to keep the hair in place. After class, if you come to my booth, I’ll show you more of my favorite products. I believe we have to share our tips and tricks so that we can help our communities grow and learn.”
I stared at Londen in awe for a minute. He was doing everything I wanted to do!
My demo was too soon for me to use some of the techniques I’d just learned. I’d need to practice first. I couldn’t wait to experiment on my friends back home.
CHAPTER 8
Barber Pros
When Mom met back up with us at the end of class, she had on eyelash extensions and blush. Her cheekbones looked extra pointy.
“How do you like my Atlanta look, J.D.?” Mom asked. “I got my face contoured and everythi
ng.”
Mom didn’t usually wear a lot of makeup, but it looked like she was having fun with it today. She mentioned that she also got a manicure and hand massage at one of the booths. She bought Vanessa a new bottle of nail polish and grabbed a free keychain light for Justin. Mom also had free tote bags full of hair supply samples for Grandma and Vanessa. Granddad was bald, but there was lotion in there for him.
There were business cards bulging from Mom’s pocket, too. She got a lot done in an hour!
“Wow, Mom, you look great!” I told her.
She laughed. “I don’t know what it is—maybe it’s the excitement of all the people or the opportunity for a bit of pampering—but I feel energized. I could get used to this life,” she said.
I was glad Mom had come with me and that she was having fun, too.
Tabitha took out a copy of our schedule and reminded us that our next big event was my demo, in two hours. I needed to set up.
“But there’s time to watch the adult barber competition on the main stage beforehand. It’s going to be exciting,” Tabitha said.
We decided that I’d set up my demo table and then take pictures at the influencer area. They had a banner with the expo’s logo and hashtag along with funny props we could pose with. After that, we’d rest our feet at the lounge while we waited for the adult competition. I wondered if I’d also have time to look for Li’l Eazy Breezy. I couldn’t leave Atlanta without a photo!
Tabitha walked us over to a stage that had two barber chairs and two tables set up. There were name placards on each table. One for me and one for Isabel Is Incredible, who I still hadn’t met.
“Here’s where you can put your supplies,” Tabitha said.
I pulled out both pairs of clippers from my backpack and my new prized possession: the set of Colorful Kris’s Organic Hair Art Pencils.
A girl with two cornrows going down her back stepped up to the table beside me. She was probably my height, but she was wearing silver platform moon boots that made her seem taller. She had glitter on her cheeks and wore sparkly tights along with a jacket that looked like something an orchestra conductor or a magician would wear.
It had to be Isabel Is Incredible.
Isabel set out what appeared to be hairpieces for men. She was joined by a man who looked just like her and another little kid holding an iPad, the kind with the pencil. Maybe it was her sister?
I didn’t think it was right to keep standing next to each other without saying anything. Granddad taught us to always introduce ourselves to new people, so I did.
“Hi, I’m J.D. the Kid Barber,” I told the girl, sticking out my hand.
Isabel turned and nodded at me without saying a word.
“Well, I’m from Meridian, Mississippi,” I said.
“That’s nice,” she replied, arranging her table.
“Have you done one of these showcases before—”
Just then, the girl with the iPad stepped in between me and Isabel.
“Isabel is preparing for her demo right now. She’ll be happy to speak more after,” the girl said.
“Oh, okay,” I replied. “Are you Isabel’s sister? I have a sister, too. She does hair, but she’s back home in Meridian.”
“Oh no, I’m Isabel’s assistant.” The girl spun around and walked backstage.
I wished Vanessa were here. She’s good at making new friends—everyone likes her. Was I supposed to be serious and focused right now, too? I usually got in the zone once my clippers buzzed to life, but in that moment, I was sweating and wondering if I had done something wrong.
* * *
• • •
I finished setting up my table, but not before I dropped my set of hair combs that I used to do parts on the floor. Mom and I took photos and spent time at the lounge. She checked in with my grandparents, and I drew a comic about some of the tips Londen shared in class. Then we walked over to the main stage for the professional barber competition.
Right at 2 p.m., the curtains that said beauty brothers opened and a DJ started playing. The guest emcee began to introduce the competitors.
It was almost like the start of my barber battle against Henry Jr., when my grandmother’s friend, Mrs. Holiday, was the host. But this was 10,000 times fancier. And there was a $10,000 prize!
“Good afternoon, Atlanta! Welcome to this year’s Beauty Brothers Barber Battle, sponsored by Smooth Cuts Razors. I am your host, Ms. Jenny Alexander!”
Jenny had a spiky haircut that fell over her eyes, with bright white chunky highlights dyed throughout. She wore an all-black outfit: a black leather pleated skirt that came right to her knees, a black button-down shirt, and heels so high, I didn’t know how she kept her balance. She had been holding a black fedora to her chest, and before she started speaking again, she put it on her head. No one in Meridian looked like Jenny. She reminded me of Storm from X-Men.
“Now coming to the stage, our first competitor, from the land known for cowboy boots and big ol’ belt buckles, Eduardo “Quick Shears” Santiago from Houston, Texas!”
Eduardo came out, and his theme music was loud rap that was chopped and screwed. I knew some people in Texas liked to slow down their music, because I had a cousin that I talked to sometimes who lived in Port Arthur.
Eduardo wore a cowboy hat and an untucked black-and-white plaid shirt with skinny jeans and low-top Nikes. I wondered if he planned to wear the hat the whole time he was cutting hair.
Eduardo was a brown man, and after he took off his hat, I could see that he had shaved down both sides of his head and pulled the rest of his hair into a bun. That’s not a style I saw in Meridian.
“And next, from the Big Easy, where they are known for their crawfish, alligators, and jumpin’ jazz bands, please welcome Big Lou!” Jenny yelled out as a hype brass band mix blasted through the speakers.
Big Lou lived up to his name. He was well over six feet tall and very round. He had on a long T-shirt with my favorite pro football team written across it, the Saints. Big Lou had a big bushy beard with a drop fade.
“Last, but not least, hailing ALL THE WAY from The Six, otherwise known as Toronto, Ontario, in CANADA, give it up for Miss Vicky!” Miss Vicky came out dressed in OVO sportswear as a Drake song played and everybody laughed. She then took off her jacket to reveal a Toronto Maple Leafs hockey jersey with the name Miss Vicky on the back over the number 1.
Miss Vicky had her hair fanned into long waves and some type of highlights mixed throughout. Seeing all these new styles reminded me how much I had to learn.
Each of the professional barbers came here representing their hometowns. It seemed important. I didn’t bring anything from Meridian. Had I made another mistake?
“Folks, over ten thousand barbers across North America applied to be on this stage today, and our panel of experts selected these three!” Jenny said.
“The rules are as follows: Each barber has forty minutes to complete their style. The competitors will be judged on creativity, execution, and overall style. Don’t forget, the audience can weigh in as the judges deliberate. Just text one for Eduardo, two for Big Lou, and three for Miss Vicky to two-two-two-one.
“And before our brave barbers get started, just remember it’s winner takes all! Ten thousand dollars, a trophy, a year’s worth of Smooth Cuts products, and a whole year of bragging rights as the best barber in North America!”
The crowd cheered at the long list of prizes.
“Now, let’s bring out the models,” Jenny said.
Eduardo’s model was a Latino kid who looked about fourteen. He had stick-straight hair that was pulled back into a short ponytail. Big Lou’s model was bearded like him, with glasses and a fade that looked like it hadn’t been cut in ages. Big Lou was going to have to put some work in. Miss Vicky’s model was a woman whose hair was in long waves just like hers, but she was wearing a mask so we c
ouldn’t see what she looked like.
“I have a surprise for everyone at the end, that’s why my model is wearing this mask!” Miss Vicky said with a wink.
The barbers put a neck strip and cape on their models. Jenny asked everyone to check that their tools were sanitized and clean and that everything was plugged in and working.
“We can’t stop once we get started!” she said.
Jenny counted down, and the DJ started playing music on cue. The sound of clippers buzzing, even if they weren’t mine, always put me in the zone. I was glad Ms. Tabitha suggested I sit up front so I could see what each barber was doing.
Forty-five minutes later, the barbers dusted off their models and spun them around to the front. Miss Vicky surprised everyone by pulling off her model’s mask to reveal it was her twin sister sitting in the chair the whole time!
The judges got up to inspect each station.
“Now is the time folks,” Jenny said. “Send in your choice for first place. We will announce the audience favorite before the judges send down their professional opinion.”
While Jenny waited for everyone to vote, she asked the barbers questions.
“Eduardo, tell us what you did to your client.”
“I gave my man here a Texas blowout fade. First you cut the hair down to the desired length, bald the hair on the temples, and blend the hair until the line disappears.”
I didn’t know exactly what Eduardo was talking about, but his client had a hairline that I never imagined was possible.
Jenny asked Big Lou the same question.
“Well, down in ‘the boot,’ we are known for drop fades and big beards, so I sculpted my model’s beard to perfection, and his fade is rocking now,” he said.
I couldn’t wait to hear about what Miss Vicky had done. It was truly amazing, and her model reveal surprised everyone.
Miss Vicky had put her sister’s hair up into a bun, parted the back of her neck, and created a design with many tiny stars. When she was finished, she curled the top of her sister’s hair into ringlets and let them fall down over the stars.