ROYAL CITY - Aaron Cedillo, a recent graduate of the Char-Glo School of Beauty in Moses Lake, has joined the hair cutting team at KC's Barbershop at 125 Camelia St.

Although Cedillo received his license in January, he is an experienced barber. Like shop owner K.C. Pratt, Cedillo started by cutting hair for friends while still in school.

Cedillo takes up KC's third chair. Pratt uses one, and the second one is operated by Catalina Valenzuela. Cedillo and Valenzuela rent their chairs from Pratt.

Cedillo graduated from Char-Glo last summer. He missed the first two times he tried for his license, but not because he didn't know the exam material.

He was disqualified the first time because he took a female mannequin head instead of a male. The second time, he ran into a traffic jam in Spokane and arrived too late.

"The third time, I took a male mannequin head, went a day early and slept over night in Spokane," he said.

Cedillo is still a student. He is studying to be an electrician at Big Bend Community College. His plan is to work both fields at the same time.

"I hope I can find a job as an electrician with someone like the PUD and cut hair on weekends," he said.

Cedillo chose barber school first because it was a shorter study period. Then he could cut hair and study at BBCC.

Cedillo was about 12 when he started cutting hair. First it was one friend, then another. He remembers one 20-haircut day while still at Royal High School.

"They just kept coming," Cedillo said. "And then they started paying me. They've followed me here. They even bring their parents and their relatives."

Pratt had a similar experience. He became a good barber while still in high school.

"It was something I could make money with," Pratt said.

Pratt didn't think he wanted to cut hair all of his life. So after graduation, he went off to Highline Community College to seek an alternative.

Pratt admits he did not apply himself. He was more interested in socializing than in school and dropped out after two quarters. He found his direction when a relative reminded him of his hair cutting talent and suggested barber school.

"I didn't think such a thing still existed," he said.

Pratt went to a school in southern California mainly because he'd had "California dreams" since childhood. He graduated in 1985.

Pratt cut hair in California for three years. Then he headed home to Washington. He cut at several shops in Seattle and eventually owned one in Edmonds for seven years.

All the while, Pratt had clients here. He cut for them on weekends and other days off. He's in his 25th year of cutting hair in Royal.

Pratt settled here in 1995 with his wife and their first daughter after his father Kent made an offer Pratt didn't want to refuse. Retiring, Kent wanted to spend at least half-years in Arizona, and he asked K.C. to run the Carquest auto parts store while he was away.

Eventually, Pratt became the year-around manager. In addition to the store, he manages the family-owned laundromat in the same complex as Carquest and KC's.

The third member of the hair-cutting team at KC's, Valenzuela, did not have the same experiences as Cedillo and Pratt. She was 16 when she arrived in Royal from Mexico.

Valenzuela did what most newcomers from Mexico do, work in agriculture. The 1991 Royal High graduate was working at a packing house when she started studying.

Valenzuela enrolled at Char-Glo in 2000. Because she needed to keep working, school went slow. She finally received her license in 2004.

Valenzuela attracts a good female clientele to KC's, but she says she cuts more for men than for women.

An independent operator, Valenzuela is at the shop mostly on Fridays and Saturdays. That's when most of her clients prefer their hair be cut.

"On other days I come in by appointment," she said.

Valenzuela appreciates her schedule because it allows for more time with her husband Fernando, two teen-aged daughters and one teen-aged son.