Zora POV

Ashley and I were sitting at the kitchen bar as I was reading her the story of the first Thanksgiving

"And so the men and women
of Plymouth Colony sat at a long table with their new-found Indian friends
to celebrate the first Thanksgiving.
And at the head of the table, the leader of the pilgrims folded his hands, bound his head and said.." I read as I was Interrupted by Will

♪ Oh do me baby ♪

♪ Do the humpty hump
do the humpty hump ♪

♪ Oh dooo doo ♪

♪ Do-o-o-o whoo ♪ he sang as he danced in the kitchen

"And then the village idiot interrupted the prayer ruining the feast for one and all." Geoffrey said as Ashley and I laughed as Mr. Banks walked in

"Boy, holiday traffic is starting already. People are in such a lousy mood. I learned five new words on the way home." Mr. Banks said

"Did you know what they meant?" Ashley asked innocently

"I think so, Ashley. They're accompanied by very helpful hand gestures" Mr. Banks said smiling at his daughter

"Will, I bet you can't wait till your mom gets here." Mrs. Banks said

"Oh, right. Yeah, thanks a lot for flying her out, Aunt Viv." Will said

"Oh, we had to convince her to accept the ticket. She never lets us spend a penny on her." Mrs. Banks said

"Apparently that's not a genetic trait." Mr. Banks said looking at Will

"Now, for Thanksgiving, do you wanna try something different or the traditional turkey?" Mrs. Banks asked

"Mother, I have a big problem with turkey." Hilary said

"What's wrong with it?" Ashley asked

"Ashley honey, from the moment
they're hatched to the moment they're shrink-wrapped turkeys are raised to be food and nothing but food." Hilary told her

"Hilary sweetheart, I don't think too many of them had aspirations to be doctors or lawyers." Will said

"So Zo what are you doing for Thanksgiving" Ashley asked

"Well my grandfather and I are gonna order some takeout and sit in the house" I told him

"That sounds sad" Ashley told ms

"Well I don't have any family to go to. It's just me and my grandfather" I told her

"Nonsense you and your grandfather are welcomed here" Mr. Banks said as I smiled

"Thank you I appreciate it" I told them smiling
------------------------------------------------------------

The next day Carlton and I walked into the living room as I saw Will's mom. They look so similar.

"Aunt Vy!" Carlton said as he went go hig her

"Oh, my goodness, aren't you handsome? And looking less and less
like your daddy every day." She said

"Ouch. Run for cover, dad." Carlton said

"Where's he gonna hide at?" Will asked as they laughed

"I'm Zora" I said as I walked up to her shaking her hand

"Oh you must be the girl Will talks about all the time. You're right Will she is pretty" Ms. Smith said

"Mom" Will yelled

"What" she asked

"Vy, this is Geoffrey. Geoffrey, my sister-in-law Mrs. Smith." Mr. Banks said

"How do you do?" Geoffrey asked

"I'm fine, thank you." She told him

"Uh, mom, check this. Ahem. Uh, Geoffrey, take my mom's bags to her room." Will said as his mom hit him upside the head

"Ow! Mom, what did I do?" Will asked

"You can take those bags yourself. That man's twice your age even though he doesn't look it. Well, at least take
the heavy one. Now go on." She told him

"But, mom--" he protested

"You heard me." She said as Will grabbed her bags

"After you, Master William." Geoffrey said as they walked upstairs

"Carlton, go tell your sisters
their aunt is here." Mr. Banks said as Carlton and I went go get Hilary and Ashley

The five of us walked down stairs to see Mrs. Banks and Ms. Smith dancing to "Ain't To Proud To Beg" by The Temptations

"Aunt Vy!" Ashley said

"My girls!" She yelled as she hugged Hilary and Ashley

"You look fantastic!" Hilary told her

"Thank you! Hey, come on. Dance with us. Here we go!" She told us as we started dancing with them

"What dance is this?" Ashley asked

"It's called the swim, Ashley. It was very popular in the 1940s." Hilary said

"The 1960s, and it's not the swim.
Your daddy know how to swim." Ms. Smith said

"No.." He denied

"Come on. Swim for her, Philip. Come on!" Mrs. Banks begged dragging him to his feet

"Uh-oh. Everybody out of the pool." Will said as he started dancing

♪ Sweet darlin'
please don't leave me girl ♪

♪ Don't you go ♪

♪ Ain't to proud to plead
baby baby ♪

♪ Please don't leave me girl ♪ we all started dancing together laughing and having a good time

After we finished dancing we went to the dining room to eat peach cobbler

Mm-mmm, that cobbler was delicious!
I swear the person that invented the elastic waistband should get the Nobel Prize. You know what I mean?" Ms. Smith said laughing

"Don't start." Mr. Banks said

"Hey, mom, you know who used to make the best cobbler? Old lady Ivory down the street. D-does she still make it?" Will asked

"Oh, honey, she passed on." She told him

"You're kidding." He asked

"Well, child, she was in her early 100s." She said

"Yo, you'd have never known by the way she used to swing that baseball bat at me. But can we, can we have a moment of silence?" Will asked as before we could be silent he interrupted us

"Mom, dad, I have a little favor. My English teacher Mr. Fellows doesn't have anywhere to go for Thanksgiving tomorrow. And I just thought, since he's all alone and we have so much to share
could we invite him to dinner?" Carlton asked

"Certainly, Carlton. That's very thoughtful." Mr. Banks said

"And not the worst way to pull my grade up to an A." Carlton said

"That is so devious and smart. Up top" I said as the both of us high fived

"Okay. This sure was lovely." Ms. Smith said grabbing her plate

"Oh, no, mom, mom, I'll get that for you." Will said

"Oh, thank you, babe." She told him

"Geoffrey!" He yelled as she hit him upside the head

"Ow! Mom, what did I do?" Will asked

"It's alright, Viola, Geoffrey clears the table. It's his job." Mrs. Banks told her

"You shouted, Master William?" Geoffrey asked

"Uh, yes, Geoffrey, why don't you have a seat and have some of these delicious peach cobbler? While we clear the table." Ms. Smith said

"Viola, don't go through so much trouble." Mr. Banks said

"No trouble at all. Hilary, Carlton, Ashley, Zora, and you,Your Highness
let us all clear the table." She said as everyone laughed. Sometimes it blows my mind how privileged they are

"That's a good one!" Carlton said

"Honey, do I look like I'm telling a joke?" She asked

"Not to me." Will said as I began helping pick up the plates

"Well, don't just sit there watching.
Pick up the dishes and get them into the kitchen. Now, hustle!" She yelled as everyone else got up and helped me

"Some guest" Hilary mumbled

I was washing the dishes with Ms. Smith when everyone walked in with thier dishes

"What should I do with these bowls?" Hilary asked

"Just put them in the dishwasher." She told her

"Here?" She told Carlton as he shrugged

"Well, let's just take them up to Geoffrey's room. He'll know what to do with them." Ashley said

"Lord, have mercy. Just leave them here. I'll take care of them. Now, go on." She told them as they left

"Honestly, I've never seen such a lazy bunch in my life and I work at the post office." She said

"How do you deal with it" she asked me

"It's just who they are you get used to it." I told him as I looked at the time

"Well Thanks For the peach cobbler but I need to head home" I said as I grabbed my leftovers

"Bye dear" she told me as I walked outside and saw Jesse the gardner

"Have a goodnight Miss Zora" Jesse told me

"You too Jesse" I said as I walked home

------------------------------------------------------------

Mrs. Banks called me at 6:00 in the morning saying it was an emergency

I ran into the kitchen as I looked around for everybody

"Is everybody okay? Are they hurt?" I asked as Hilary, Will, Carlton, and Ashley walked in the kitchen

"Mommy.....didn't we just have a fire drill last week?" Ashley asked rubbing her eyes

"This is not a drill." She told us as Carlton wrapped his arms around me from behind with his head on my shoulder as we swayed back and forth

"It's a fire? Oh, my God! I'm going back
for my suede boots. And don't try to stop me." Hilary said walking away

"While you up there, get my lucky drawers!" Will yelled

"You are going to cook and serve Thanksgiving dinner." She told us

"How?" Ashley asked

"Why?" Hilary asked walking back in

"I don't live here" I told her

"Because you kids don't do enough work around the house." She told us

"Excuse me? Didn't I just mow Central Park yesterday?" Will asked as Ashley put her head on the table

"I don't live here" I repeated as Carlton lifted his head from my shoulder and unwrapped himself from me as he walked up to his mother

"Mom, my English teacher is coming to dinner. He holds my English grade in the palm of his hand. This is not the time for one of your leftist experiments." He told her

"Carlton's right, mom. All this stuff about us working could really wait.
I mean, it has a real New Year's resolution feel to it." Hilary said

"I don't live here" I repeated again

"I do not won't discuss this. Now, since when do I have to ask you kids twice?" She asked

"Every time, mommy." Ashley told her

"Well, not this time. Now, you've got 15 minutes to get up, get dressed and get back down here. Move it!" She yelled as they walked away

"But I don't live here"I told her

"Go" she yelled at me

"Yes Ma'am" I said as I ran out the house. Even though she's not my mother she scares me

We all got dressed and met back in the kitchen. We were wearing aprons and sitting at the kitchen bar.

"Alright, now. Bust this. These are your assignments

"I'll do the turkey. Ashley, you do the cranberry sauce. Carlton, you do the stuffing. Hilary, you do the yams and rolls. Zora can do the macaroni." Will told us

"Oh, I get two things? Why don't put a yoke around my neck and hitch me to a plow?" Hilary asked

"Hilary, I don't think it would be the worst thing in the world if you guys did a little bit of work around here. I mean, you guys are getting a fancy ride a fancy ride in a free car." Will said

"I don't live here and aren't I a guess why am I apart of this" I asked

"Hey if we suffering, we suffering together" Carlton said as we started cooking

I had finished my macaroni as I put it on the counter to cool down. I walked to the living room to see my grandfather there along with Mr. Fellows talking to Ms. Smith and Mrs. and Mr. Banks

"Uh, ladies and gentlemen dinner will be served in 10 minutes." I told them as I heard something break

"Excuse me." I said calmly as I ran back into the kitchen

"Hilary. Hilary! What are you doing?" Will yelled

"It seems that little Mr. Poppin' Fresh
doesn't want to come out of his tube.
Perhaps this will persuade him." Hilary said as she grabbed a knife

"Ashley, how's the cranberry sauce coming?" Will asked

"All done." She said holding it up

"Darn it!" Carlton said as he knocked it over

"Nice going, Carlton!" Ashley yelled

"Well, do you want to try to make this?
This stuffing is completely dry." He said

"L-look, do I have to do everything myself? Listen, Carlton, this isn't exactly brain surgery. Look, when something is too dry, what do we do?
Cream of mushroom soup! Pour, pour, pour! Mix, mix, mix! Can you do that?"he told him

"Hilary, did you check the yams?" Will asked

"For what?" She asked

"Oh, my God." Will said as he opened the oven and smoke was coming out of it as we all fanned the smoke away

"Zora, baby, give me good news hows the macaroni" Will asked

"It's on the counter all finished and ready to go" I told him

"Well at least we'll have something" he told me

After we finished cooking We were all sitting in the dining room as I sat in between Will and Carlton

"Shall we say grace?" Mrs. Banks asked as we all bowed our heads

"Dear Lord, for this food we are about to receive make us truly thankful" Mrs. Banks said

"Amen." Everyone said

"A-woman" I said smiling as everyone groaned

"Well, let's start by serving our guest of honor. Mr. Fellows, care for some yams?" Carlton asked holding up the burnt yams

"I'd love some. Interesting. I've never had them before with this thick black crust." He said

"It's Cajun style." Hilary said

"Hilary burned them." Will said as Hilary glared at him

"Oh, they're just burned on top. Once you get underneath it they're totally charred. How did you do that?" She asked

"Mom, give Hilary a break. I think she deserves some credit just for putting out the fire." Ashley said

"Fire?" She asked

"Well, what else do we have?" Mr. Banks asked

"Well, that looks like cranberry sauce, Mr. Fellows." I asked

"Lay it on me." He said

"Allow me." My grandfather told him as he put some on his plate

"It looks wonderful. Who made it?" Mrs. Banks asked

"I did, mommy." Ashley said as he ate some

"Mmm. Mmm. It's delicious." He said

"Yeah, you'd never know Ashley dropped it on the floor." Hilary said as he dropped his spoon

"Okay well Zora made the macaroni" Will told him as I put some on his plate

"This is very good" he told me as I smiled

"Thank you" I told him

"Has it been on the floor or anything" Mr. Fellows asked

"Nope." I told him as he fanned his mouth

"Too much pepper" he told me

"Well we all can't be happy can we" I snapped

"Well, um, what about the stuffing?
Where's that been?" Mr. Banks asked

"Uh, yo, man, t-that's dope. Give it a try, Mr. Fellows." Will told him as he looked hesitant

"I made it, Mr. Fellows. I'm sure you'll find it of grade A quality." Carlton said

"Oh, speaking of as A's.." Mr. Fellows said

"Yes?" Carlton asked

"Will is gonna get an A in my English class." He told Will's mother

"Oh, congratulations, baby." Ms. Smith told him

"Anything else" Carlton asked

"Oh and Mr. Allen you're granddaughter has one of the most creative minds. I ever seen in my poetry club" he told my grandfather

"That's my girl" my grandfather said smiling at me

"Do you have any news for my parents?" Carlton asked

"Not really." He said as I rubbed Carlton's shoulder

"So how about that stuffing?" He asked

"Aw, serve yourself." Carlton said as he put some stuffing on his plate but it looked more like soup than anything

"Oh, it looks, looks great. Um...shall I pass it on?" He asked

"No!" We all yelled

"You can have all of that." My grandfather told him

"Uh, it's a good idea. Uh, save lots of room. Because we have a turkey roasted to perfection by yours truly.
Would you like to do the honors, Uncle Phil?" Will asked as he stood up and walked to the turkey

"Why, certainly." He said as he grabbed the knife to cut the turkey but he couldn't

"It's frozen inside." He told us

"I'm sorry. I thawed it as much I could.
What am I supposed to do sit on it all day?" Will asked as Ms. Smith started laughing

"Now, come on, Vy. The kids worked hard on this." Mrs. Banks said

"Honey, hard is the word." She said as she laughed banging the rolls on thr table as we all laughed

When her and Mrs. Banks went go find something to make

"Food, food!" We all chanted banging on the table when Mrs. Banks ran out with some

"Yay" we all cheered

After dinner My grandfather and I were walking home

"That was the weirdest Thanksgiving I ever been too" My grandfather told me laughing

"Me too. Can we come back again next year" I asked

"Sure sweetheart" he told me as I smiled

Lately I started to feel like I was more apart of thier family instead of just a friend. I hope they feel the same way about me.