Haircut day is a day that every newsie dreads. If you notice a boy’s hair growing too long for your liking, you pull him aside as everyone arrives at the lodgehouse for the evening, and cut it short.

That day doesn’t happen often for Jack because he was allowed to refuse your haircuts. But you’ve found ways to get him to buckle.

So now, he’s sitting in a wooden chair by the sinks in the lodgehouse with a frown on his lips as you snip at his wet, clean hair.

“I hate this,” he mutters.