Avenged Sevenfold's Best Kept Secret

“Miss Baker!”

My head lifted up off the desk momentarily to make a face at my English teacher before I lay back down again. That response was greeted by a series of gasps from the ‘good students’ and then laughs from my friends and anyone else we occasionally hung out with.

“How dare you!” She screeched at me.
“Sorry Mrs. Hadley, I’m bored, you’re not the best teacher ever, and I just want to sleep. Is that too much to ask?”
“Out.” She told me, pointing to the door.

I groaned and stood up, picking up my school bag as I went. My friends were snickering as I left the classroom and when Mrs. Hadley couldn’t see me anymore I gave her the finger, sticking my tongue out at my friends.

I leant against the wall tapping my foot and playing with the ends of my recently dyed green hair while I waited for my teacher to come out, tell me what to do and give me a lecture on how to behave in a classroom.

“Yo! Baker!”

I looked up from playing with my hair to see my friend, Mike, walking past on his way to the principals office.

“Hey Zuka! What did you do this time?”
“Swore when I spilt paint down me, see?”

He turned to face me and I got to see him completely covered in a rainbow of different colored paint. I lifted a hand to my mouth to stop from laughing too loud.

“Well done Mike. I tried to fall asleep.”
“I’m guessing Lord Faarquad wasn’t too happy about that huh?”

I shook my head and Mrs. Hadley came out, ushered Mike on and then turned to me so I stood up straight. When I did that I think that I was possibly twice her size, even with those weird open-toed heels she wore every day.

“Now Haley, I understand that it’s the last day of the year and you have a lot going on at home right now…”
“Um, what?”
“Don’t interrupt me Miss Baker. Your father has moved out and is halfway across the country isn’t he?” She raised an eyebrow at me.
“Oh, he didn’t move out. He’s on tour.” I smiled, nodding; he would be home in the next week or so.
“Well, if that’s how you want to deal with it? Anyway, it doesn’t give you the right to disrespect me during lessons or at all for that matter. Is that clear?”

I nodded and started shifting from one foot to another. This was the last lesson of the day on the last day of the year and I could hear everyone else start to pack up. I knew my friends would wait for me but still.

“Now, if this carries on next year, it’s detention. You understand?”
“Yes Mrs. Hadley.”
“Okay, you may go now…”

She didn’t get a chance to finish her sentence because I was already halfway down the hall, catching up with my boyfriend, Cameron and our friend Lexi. Max soon joined us, coming out of the changing rooms looking pissed off.

“What happened Max?” Lexi asked.
“Mrs. Gittins made us run ten laps again. I mean, it’s our last day.” She huffed. “Haley I swear to God, your Mom better be ready to make a trip to Starbucks cause…”
“She is, she’ll be here in like five minutes so meet at the front in three minutes, Mike’s in the principal’s office, he swore because he spilt paint down himself.” I giggled, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
“Idiot.” Cam mumbled.
“Leave him alone.”

I moved away from Max and grabbed Cam’s hand, turning into him and looking up at him from my tiny height of five foot. Dammit why did my Mom have to go for such a short man? I’m just lucky that she wasn’t into my Uncle Johnny.

Everything worked according to plan, we all departed to our lockers to finish the emptying and then finally all five of us joined up again at the front of the school three minutes later.

“Haley, where’s your Mom? I need Starbucks like right now!”

I scanned the parking lot again and finally found my Mom’s SUV parked pretty close to the entrance. Inside Mom was reading a magazine and on the phone.

“I see her. Come on guys.”

“…Okay Roger, well Zack clearly told you to order three hundred but when he phoned up yesterday there were only fifty… Damn right it won’t happen again… Oh, I’m gonna have to go. I’m picking Haley up from school… Okay, I’ll talk to you later then. Bye.”

She hung up and looked aggravated for a second before turning to smile at us.

“Hey guys. How was school?” she asked, pulling out of the lot.
“Ugh, it’s over for another two months. Thank GOD!” Max complained.
“Hear, hear. Tell you what, how about I take you all to Starbucks. My treat.”
“Love you Momma.” I said in my baby voice.
“You’re welcome sweetheart. By the way, I talked to your Dad and its official, they all get home tomorrow.”
“I know, oh, my English teacher seemed to think he’d moved out of the house.”

She looked at me in the rear-view mirror, as confused as me.

“I know. I was just like; he’s on tour, not moving out. She told me to deal with it the way I want.”

Mom shook her head as she turned out of the junction and sighed.

“I don’t like that teacher. She’s really short too. Even shorter than you and Johnny.”

We all had to laugh at that one. Maybe I should explain myself. My name is Haley Maria Baker. My Mom’s name is Gena Baker and my Dad’s name is Zacky Baker. Yeah… THAT Zacky Baker. He’s also known as Zacky Vengeance, rhythmic guitarist in Avenged Sevenfold and a player who will never settle down. Well, of course I know that’s not true and so does Mom. I’m Avenged Sevenfold’s best kept secret and I have been for sixteen years now. Nobody knows who I am at school except for my friends and even then it took me a good six months before I told them.