Zora POV

Carlton and I walked downstairs as Mr. Furth walked up to Carlton

"Carlton, you're a nice, responsible young man." Mr. Furth told him

"And you're an eminent respected attorney and your wife is a dazzling beauty." Carlton told him

"Yo, G, did you leave a vacuum cleaner on? I just heard a loud sucking noise." Will said as Geoffrey left

"Carlton, old sport how would you like
to drive my Mercedes to Palm Springs
this weekend? You could hang around the retreat, play some golf. And you know the chicks in Palm Springs
wear the skimpiest of bikinis." Mr. Furth said

"Well, I sure could use a good game of golf." Carlton said

"Good show. See you there." Mr. Furth said

"Zora you wanna come too" Carlton asked me

"You want me to spend the weekend alone with you in Palm Springs" I asked

"Yeah it'll be fun. We can play some golf, go to the pool, we can even have a picnic on the beach" he told me as I smiled

"Okay" I said as he smiled

"Okay" he said

"Can you guys say anything else but okay" Will said annoyed

"Okay, everybody. Last one in the chopper is a rotten egg." Mrs. Furth said as we told them goodbye

"Why so glum, chum?" Carlton asked as we looked at Will

"It was my idea for me to drive
his car to Palm Springs. How come he asked you to do it? This is a black thing, isn't it?" Will asked

"Well I should go pack" I said

"Okay"

"Okay

"Yeah we get it you're spending the weekend alone in Palm Springs" Will yelled annoyed

"Sheesh what crawled up your shorts" I muttered

I ran to my house as I saw my Grandfather in the kitchen as I ran to him

"PaPa Carlton invited me to Palm Springs this weekend can I go please please please" I begged

"I don't know how I feel about you spending the weekend alone with a boy" he told me 

"But PaPa I'm super responsible and Mr.  and Mrs. Banks and Mr. and Mrs. Furth will be there to if anything happens and you can hang out with Geoffrey because he has the weekend off please. I'll give you my blood" I begged

"Okay sweetheart but be careful and call me as soon as you make it" he told me as I smiled and I hugged him

"Thank you thank thank you" I told him

"With you away I can finally do everything I can't do with you here" he told me

"You know what I don't even wanna know" I said as I ran upstairs to go pack

After I went go pack I went go meet Carlton as I put my bag in the trunk as he started driving

I was looking out the window as Carlton was singing

'A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H..'
I got a gal In Kalamazoo

I don't want to boast but I know she's
the toast of Kalamazoo

Zoo zoo zoo zoo

Carlton took out a tape recorder as I watched him

"Plans for Palm Springs. One, work on golf swing. Two, review SAT Practice book. Three, ask Mr. Furth about
a summer internship." Carlton said

"Four, get the stick out of your butt." I heard a voice say as I turned around amd it was Will

"Way to go, Will. You almost made us crash. What do you think you're doing here anyway?" Carlton asked

"Oh, come on, just relax, C Pretend I'm not even here." Will said

"Gladly." Carlton said as I started looking out the window again

"What you eating?" Will asked

"Oh, for crying out loud." Carlton said

"Could I have some?" Will asked

"Alright, Will, I'll share my snack with you on one condition, when we get to Palm Springs you will behave like a proper gentleman and try to maintain some sense of decorum and etiquette.
Understood?" Carlton asked as he nodded

"Good. What do you say to an Oreo?" Carlton asked

"I say, "What's up, Carlton?" Will said as he laughed

"Sorry about our plans" Carlton told me

"It's okay we can still do them" I told him

"Oh cool, What are we doing" Will asked wrapping his arms around us smiling

We kept driving for a while then Carlton got  lost so Will and I were looking at the streets

"I can't believe we're lost. What's the name of this street?" Carlton asked

"Arguello Drive." I told him

"Maybe that'll get us back to the freeway." Carlton said

"Here. Let me check." Will said as he stood up and looked out the sunroof

"No, man. No freeways, son, I..Hey, C-Carlton, look out! A low bridge!" Will yelled as he screamed

"Look, thanks a lot, man. Now we got to go back and get my head. And I really
liked that head." Will said

"Can the yuck fest, Will. We're lost
and it's all your fault." Carlton said as he took his head out his shirt

"You're the one that ain't bring no map." Will told him

"Well, you're the one that have to go to the bathroom." He argued

"You're the one that gave me that Shasta." Will told him

"Stop fighting now for the rest of this trip you two are gonna get along. Do I make myself clear" I asked

"Yes ma'am" they told me as we heard police sirens

"Oh great another problem" I muttered

"Is that the police?" Carlton asked

"Punch it, man. We're in a Benz." Will told him

"Are you crazy? Three black kids speeding off in a Mercedes gives them more reason to be suspicious" I told him

"I call this a lucky break. A policeman is our pal. We can ask him for directions." Carlton said

"Listen to me, Carlton, when he comes up keep your hands on the wheel." Will told him as the officer walked to the door as I put my hands on the dashboard

"Good evening, officer. Carlton Banks." Carlton said holding his hand out

"Keep your hands on the wheel. Where you heading?" The officer asked

"We're going to Palm Springs. And yourself? Where are you headed
this fine evening?" Carlton asked

"Good job, Carlton. Now he's gon'
want to see your license." Will told him

"Right." He scoffed

"Can I see your license?" The officer asked

"My license? Yeah. I have to warn you
this picture was taken without my contacts. And the height is a typo.
I'm actually a lot taller." Carlton said

"Fool, this is not "The Love Connection." Will told him

"Vehicle registration, please." The officer asked

"Just a sec. But the thing is, officer,
this isn't my car." Carlton said as Will and I groaned it's obvious he never had a run in with the police

"Get out of the car, Carlton." Will told him

"What?" He asked

"He's going to tell us to get out of the car." Will told him

"You watch too much TV, Will." Carlton said

"Get out of the car." He said

"Officer, honestly, I don't see the need to--" Carlton said

"Hey, hey! Get out of the car now." He yelled as we got the car as Will put his hands on the hood

We were taken to the police station for questioning. We were sitting at a table waiting for the officer

"Okay, Carlton, thanks to you we're already an hour late to bikini land.
So, when they interrogate us, which they like to do keep all your answers
short and sweet." Will told him

"Will, I know how to handle this. I'm pre-law." Carlton said two officers walked up to us

I didn't learn thier names because I don't think their worthy of that

"Okay, fellas, let's start at the beginning.
Where are you from?" One of the officers asked

"LA." I told him

"Well, not exactly." Carlton said

"Next question, please." Will said

"Now let's hear what your
friend has to say." The officer said

"Actually, we come from Bel-Air. In fact, we live two houses away from the Reagans.We have the same pool man." Carlton said as I rubbed my temples

"And where were you headed to?" The officer asked

"The desert. Next question, please." Will said

"Not just the desert, Palm Springs. We're going to a legal retreat. It's at Henry Furth's villa, he's my father's partner and the owner of the car
we were driving." Carlton said as I put my head on the table

"Oh, he is, is he? Then why didn't he drive it himself to Palm Springs?" The officer asked

"Because his wife flew everybody in her helicopter." Carlton ssid

"Okay, fellas, we've had a lot of car thefts in the area lately. You want to talk about it?" The officer told us

"Okay, I think it's terrible." Carlton told him

"You making fun of me, kid?" The officer asked

"You're the one who wanted to
talk about it. Why, frankly, I think it's a matter for the police to handle." Carlton said

"Carlton, they're handling it now." Will said

"What on earth are you talking about?" He asked

"They think we stole the Benz." I told him

"Officers, let me call Henry Furth
he's the owner of the car and he'll straighten everything out."

"Sure. Sure. And while you're at it
you might want to give Ron and Nancy
a ring-a-ding-ding." The officer said as we went over to the phone

"May I speak to Philip Banks?" Carlton asked

"No, I said Philip Banks. Can I speak to him?" Carlton yelled

"No. Is Mr. Furth there?" He asked

"Oh, Mrs. Furth. This is Carlton. Carlton Banks. Mrs. Furth, you've gotta get
a message to my father. It's very important. I'm in jail." Carlton said as she hung up as Carlton froze as I hugged his side

"Yo, yo, C, it's-it's alright, man, chill.
Yo, we get a phone call, too. C, it's alright. Chill." Will told him as I grabbed the phone

I dialed my house phone number as I listened to it ring

"He didn't answer what does that crazy old man do when I'm not home" I said as Will grabbed the phone

"Hey, G, w-what up, yo? Uh, this is Will, man. I-I need a big favor. Hey, yo, man." Will said

"I need another phone call. My butler hung up on me." Will said

"Okay, fellas, you want to talk about those other car thefts?" The officer said

"Look, I don't think you know
who you're talking to. I have a 3.95
grade point average which would have been a 4.0 except that I had to
take a ceramics class and my pot exploded in my kiln. I'm going to go
to Harvard Law School and graduate with honors and then I'm going
to sue you blind. Now, give us
another phone call." Carlton said as they put us in a holding cell

I couldn't hold back my tears as I began crying as Will wrapped his arm around me

"Oh don't cry Zee. You're to pretty for that. Look we'll get through this" Will told me rocking us back and forth as a man started coughing and I looked up in disgust and stopped crying

"I think he likes you." Will said

"This is terrible. I'm ruined. I'll be kicked out of the Glee Club. I won't get into Princeton. I won't be admitted
to the bar." Carlton said sitting down

"Neither will I. The cops took my fake ID." Will said sitting down as I sat in between them

"Oh, come on, man, don't give me
that my-dog-is-dead face. Come on. Let's sing." Will said

"I'm not singing." Carlton told him

"Come on." Will said

♪ When Israel
was in Egypt land ♪ Will sang

"This is just retarded." Carlton told him

"Come on, man. Let it go. You'll feel better." Will said

♪ Let my people go ♪ Carlton sang

♪ Oppressed so hard
they could not stand ♪ I sang

♪ Let my people go ♪ Carlton sang

♪ Go down Moses ♪ we heard the man sing as we whipped our heads to him

♪ Way down in Egypt land ♪
♪ Tell old pharaoh ♪
♪ Let my people go ♪♪ the man sang as we looked weirded out

♪ Clap your hands
slap your thighs ♪ he sang clapping as the three of us jumped at how sudden it was

♪ Hallelujah hallelujah ♪
♪ Everybody sing along ♪
♪ Come join the jubilee ♪♪ he sang as then all of a sudden became serious. Will moved closer to me as we looked scared

"So how old are you" The man asked me as I moved closer to Carlton and Will grabbed their hands

The man, whose name we learned was Bob, was still singing and dancing

♪ I am music and I write the songs ♪♪ he sang as I clapped out of fear 

"Yo, that was dope, Bob!" Will told him

"You are very talented Bob" I said. Well he is it's just weird how he switches from theatrical to serious within seconds

"Take five?" Will said as Bob walked to the other end of the cell

"Yo, C, Zee, we got to get out of here, man. That big dude is making me nervous." Will said

"Why?" Carlton asked

"Anytime you see a white guy in jail
you know he did something bad." Will told us

"Man, we got to get a message to Uncle Phil. He's a lawyer and he'll get us out of here." Will said

"But they won't give us any more phone calls." I told him

"Not that it matters, the game was on so loud Mrs. Furth couldn't even hear what I said." Carlton said

"The game?" Will asked

"Yeah. The football game on TV. That's all they do at these retreats." Carlton said

"Alright, alright. We out of here, man. I got an idea." Will said

"Yo!" Will yelled to the officer

"Yeah." The officer said

"My, uh, buddy here is ready to confess." Will said

Will made a plan to give a bogus confession so we can get a camera crew here and Mr. and Mrs. Banks can see us on Tv. A pretty smart plan might I add

The camera crew came as I helped Will put on the bandana and broken sunglasses and took off his jacket

"This is Steve Goddard of the Minute Man 21 News Team at the Santa Juanesta Police Station. The recent rash of car thefts in the Palm Springs area
has finally been solved, as the perpetrators were arrested earlier this evening. The ringleader agreed to confess only if a camera crew
were present to broadcast live.
What you're about to see is a
Minute Man 21 News exclusive." The anchorman said as it turned to the cell

"Yeah! We done it! Word to big bird. We vicked eight Benzitos fifteen Jags, and a Maserati but I ain't like the upholstery
so I took it back, jack!" Will said

"Uh, do you have anything to say?" The anchorman asked Carlton

"Dad!" Carlton cried as the camera turned to my face as I awkwardly waved this isn't exactly how I wanted to be on the news

After the camera crew left We were standing up leaning our heads against the bars as Bob was still singing

♪ Someone left the cake
out in the rain ♪ Bob sang walking around the cell

♪ I don't think
that I can take it ♪ he sang walked up to us

♪ 'Cause it took so long
to bake it ♪ he sang walking in between us

♪ And I'll never have
that recipe again ♪ he sang as he rubbed my shoulders as my fears widened in fear

♪ Oh no ♪♪ he sang as Mr. and Mrs. Banks walked in the door

"Aunt Viv!" Will yelled

"Dad!" Carlton said

"Who is in charge here?" Mrs. Banks asked

"I am." The officer said

"Let those kids out." Mrs. Banks said

"These kids are car thieves." The officer said

"And you have made a big mistake.
Now I don't know how you got that bogus confession out of them but those three kids. haven't stolen a thing from anyone. This has got to be the biggest
amateur operation I've seen since "Mayberry RFD." Mrs. Banks yelled as Will, Carlton, and I high fived

"Could you ask your wife to calm down?" The other officer asked

"Calm yourself, Barney Fife!" Mrs. Banks yelled

"Vivian, please. Now, officers, I'm sure we can clear this whole matter up
quite easily." Mr. Banks said

"Would you please sit down? We're busy now." The officer told him

"Oh, honey, we're about to get very busy up in here." Mrs. Banks said taking out her earrings

"Sit down!" The other officer yelled

"Hey! You don't talk to my wife like that." Mr. Banks asked

"Now, wait a minute, buddy. Who the hell do you think you're talking to?" The officer asked

"Who the hell do you think you're talking to?" Mr. Banks yelled

"What's going on here?" Mr. Furth asked walking in

"May I help you, sir?" The officer asked

"Oh sure speak respectfully to the white guy" I said

"I'm Henry Furth." Mr. Furth told him

"Good news, Mr. Furth. Your car is safe and sound and we've got the perpetrators." The officer said

"Those aren't the perpetrators. Those are my partner's son and nephew and family friend" Mrm

"Partner?" The officer asked

"Legal partner." Mr. Banks said

"I bet you feel real stupid now" I said

"I've got a few questions for you. When you got this alleged confession from these three children, did they have a lawyer present? No. Because I'm their lawyer. Did you notify their parents?No, because we're their parents.
So, officer, don't tell us to wait. And don't tell us to sit down. Just open that damn cell and let those three kids out of there or I'm gonna tie this place up
with so much litigation that your grandchildren are gonna need lawyers!" Mr. Banks yelled at them

"Get em Phil" I yelled

"Open the cell, Jerry." The officer said as the other one opened the cell

"Peace out, Bob." Will told him

"Bye Bob" I told him

"When do you turn 18" Bob asked me as I started speed walking

"Go go go" I whispered yelled as I ran out the ddoor

We finally made it back to Bel-Air as we walked into the Banks' House

"Hi, mom! Hi, dad! Let's go play! Let's go play!  Come on, everybody, let's go play!" Ashley yelled running up to me jumping in my arms as I carried her

"Not tonight, sweety. We kinda had an exhausting weekend." Mrs. Banks said as I put her down

"What happened?" Ashley asked

"We got arrested." Will said

"Arrested?" Ashley asked

"By who? The fashion police?" Hilary asked

"No, the police thought we stole Mr. Furth's car" I told them

"but they were just trying
to do their jobs." Carlton said

"Why did they think you stole it?" Hilary asked

"Hillary, we've been over that all weekend. But it's late and I think we all should go to bed." Mr. Banks said

"Oh, I don't want to go to bed. I want to play monopoly. I want to jump rope. Let's go paint my room!" Ashley said jumping on her father

"Geoffrey, some warm milk, please." Mrs. Banks said as they all walked away

I sat down on the couch as I laid my head back. I was so tired

"Yo, Carlton." Will asked as he turned around

"Those cops were just trying to do their jobs?" Will asked

"Will, don't get all bent out of shape." Carlton told him

"Man, you ain't learn nothing this weekend, did you?" Will asked him

"I most certainly did. Always bring a map." He said

"What?" Will asked him in disbelief

"If we would've had a map we wouldn't have had to drive two miles an hour
trying to find a freeway entrance
and we wouldn't have been stopped." Carlton told him

"Oh, okay, okay. I get it now. We were stopped 'cause we were driving too slow. We were breaking the slowness limit. Oh, okay, well, you see, I never heard of that law before but I did hear this other law it's called that "If you see a black guy "driving anything but a burnt out Pinto you better stop him
because he stole it law." Yeah, I heard about that one. Oh, but, see, I-I thought it was "The Black Guy Law" when in actuality, it was the "Slowness Limit Law." Oh. Thank you for sharing that
with me, Carlton. Goodnight." Will said as I stayed silent because I knew he was right

"They were just doing their job." Carlton told him

"Goodnight, Carlton." Will said again

"What's your complaint here? We were detained for a few hours. Dad cleared things up and we were released. The system works." Carlton told him

"I hope you like that system 'cause you're gonna be seeing a whole lot of it
during your lifetime." Will told him

"Not if I bring a map." Carlton yelled

"You just don't get it, do you? No map is going to save you and neither is your Glee Club or your fancy Bel-Air dress
or who your daddy is 'cause when you're driving in a nice car in a strange neighborhood, none of that matters.
They only see one thing." Will told him

"He's right Carlton" I told him

"Well, maybe growing up where you did has made you a little touchy. But I think you've blown this thing way out of proportion. If you look at the facts.." He said as Will walked away

Carlton sat down on the couch next to me and started thinking. I know he's thinking about what Will said

Mr. Banks walked downstairs as he looked at me

"Zora are you gonna stay the night" Mr. Banks asked 

"Yeah I'm to tired to walk home. I'll call my grandfather" I said

"Carlton, it's late. It's a school day tomorrow, son." Mr. Banks asked his son

"Yeah, yeah. Okay, dad. Um, y-you know, it was awfully nice of Mr. Furth
to help us out. I'll have to write him
a Thank You note." Carlton told him

"It shouldn't have happened in the first place, son." Mr. Banks said

"Goodnight." He told us

"Dad? If you were a policeman and you saw a car driving two miles an hour
wouldn't you stop it?" Carlton asked 

"I asked myself that question the first time I was stopped. Goodnight" he said as he walked upstairs

"I would stop it." Carlton said as he looked at me

"Zora" he said as I hugged him

"It's the way the world works Carlton. You can't stop it" I told him as I put my head on his shoulder and we sat there