ChampionOrange

“Mr Brent? Mr Florence will see you now.” The receptionist opened the door and held out her arm, welcoming Charles into the office. Charles, who had been checking emails on his phone, put his phone in his pocket and walked through the doorway. “Thank you, Cara.” Charles smiled at the receptionist, who blushed. Charles had that effect on woman a lot, but his intentions were sincerely kind. Charles buttoned the top button on his well cut blue suit and entered the office. The view was superb, overlooking Boston harbor and much of the city. The office was well lit and decorated, and a large desk stood in the middle of the

Loralee took a deep breath enjoying the crisp cool air. She was in the big city. She was in London. Cabs and buses rushed by on the road, hurrying off to their destinations. Loralee took hold of her luggage, waiting outside of Cannon Street train station. It was a big change from the small town in Kent she was from, to be sure. There were so many people, so many sounds, so many sensations that Loralee was unfamiliar with. Still, this was her chance to make her big break. Hailing a black cab, Loralee dragged her bags to the curb and loaded them into the car. The driver, a short Middle Eastern gent, was smoking a cigarette as she entered. &#

A lot had changed since Charlotte had cut her hair in Andrew’s Barbershop. There were a few other women who had come to Andrew for haircuts, and they had all cut more than a few inches off. It was amazing to see a more relaxed attitude about women cutting their hair. Of course, Andrew’s male clients still disapproved of the new policy, but they couldn’t stop him now. Andrew’s competitors were slow to accept women. In the neighborhood, only Andrew and a Spanish fellow cut women’s hair, so it was still coming into play for most of the other shops. However, with Charlotte, who was the wife of a major businessman in

Chicago attracted all sorts of immigrants, and many fell on hard times when they got there. Andrew Cummings ran a barbershop in Chicago, but he catered to all genders, not just men. Andrew’s competitors were strict on only admitting men to have their haircut, but Andrew knew better. Women were the best possible customer for a hairdresser, because they had so much hair and much more women’s hair was cut than men’s. Andrew stood in his doorway, overlooking the busy street. Andrew’s Barbershop was a popular destination for many clients, but today, it was empty. Wagons rolled down the road in both directions, and pedestria

  The salon door was opened very gently, spreading dust into the shop. Coughing loudly, two women entered the shop. Waving her hand in front of her face, the first woman turned to the other one.   “Well Tessa, what do you think?” Tessa walked forward, examining the small but comfortable shop.   “It’s perfect, Denise. And just how I remember it from when I was a kid. The dust doesn’t bother me, I can clean that up later. It’s just how I always imagined it…” Denise raised her eyebrows slightly. “Filled with dust? You imagined your new salon filled with dust and been disused in more than f

Tessa and Claire were silent for a while, with Tessa cleaning the salon and Claire writing something on her pad. Tessa knew that other customers would be here at some time. It was possible that one or two eleven year old girls would show up to get their braids cut. Soon enough, another knock came at the door. Tessa dropped her cleaning rag and opened the door. A young mother with her two daughters stood at the doorway, looking excited. “Mrs. Dalton! It’s good to see you today!” “Hello Tessa! You know Anna and Corinne, right?” “Of course! How are you today, girls?” “Good, Miss Tessa.” The

“So, Tessa, tell me about your town’s tradition. I want to hear everything.” Claire pulled out a pad and pen and readied herself to take notes. Tessa took a deep breath, and began the tale. “Back in the pioneer days, the early settlers of the town were working hard in their fields or their ranges, toiling away as pioneers did. One summer, it was so hot that many of the men and women fainted from heat stroke. No one was tending the fields or ranges, so the mayor, Benedict Tuft, called all the people into the town hall, which was newly built. Mayor Tuft declared that all women would have to cut their long hair short, so

  Tessa pulled into her salon only a few minutes after leaving the town hall. The town wasn’t huge, but there was plenty of space. Tessa’s salon was on the outskirts of town, placed on a hill towards the eastern mountain foothills. The shop had been owned by a couple for years, but when they died within a few years of each other, Tessa bought the place. Tessa had been at cosmetology school in Casper, and when she returned, she spent all of her savings to buy the salon.   Tessa unlocked the door and walked inside her shop. After putting the braid box on the farthest left chair, Tessa sat down in the right chair and relaxed. The sal

  In a small Wyoming town, Family Haircutting, owned by Tessa, was the best place to get all around family haircuts. The town wasn’t just a blip on the radar, it had a few thousand people. Interestingly enough, there was a strange custom where every girl would come into a haircutting place at the age of eleven and get their haircut. By that time, their hair was only trimmed at home, and in very small amounts. Their hair would be put in braids as they were brought to the salon, and as the braids would be cut, one would be kept and put in a box, while the other would be given to the town hall and hung in a large room. The tradition went b