Zora POV

I walked into History Class with Carlton and Kellogg. I know what you're thinking why am I here? My grandfather and the other headmasters agreed to let me take classes here during second semester.

"Hey, Kellogg, how was your weekend?" I asked

"Complete disaster, Zora. I took this girl to see New Kids on the Block, right and all night she's saying to me, "Donnie's so cute
Donnie's so sweet, Donnie's so hunky."

"Well he is" I told him

"I mean, what does Donnie have that I don't have?" Kellogg asked

"My guess is you don't have the right stuff." Chadney said.

He is so cute. I always had a tiny crush on him but I was very subtle about it

"Oh, oh, oh." The three of us sang as we laughed

"So Zora how was your weekend" Chadney asked me smiling. Oh he has dimples

"It was great. I mean good. I mean great. Well technically they mean the same thing" I rambled

"You're cute" he told me as I tried not to smile

"He called me cute" I whispered to Carlton smiling

"Yeah I heard" he whispered back as the bell rang as I sat down behind Carlton

"Alright, men" Professor Smiley said as I cleared my throat

"and woman" he said as I smiled

"It's history time." He told us as Will walked in

"Smith, you're late." He told him

"Uh, sorry about that, coach, but, uh..I just thought I'd run a few laps before class, you know? Whoo. Help out the old basketball team." Will said as he sat beside me

"Good idea, Smith. Good way to stay ahead of the competition. Might not be a bad idea for all you men who are ones the team to start the day with a few laps." Professor Smiley said

"We run enough laps at basketball practice, Coach Smiley." Chadney told him

"Okay, Hunt, we're not in the gym. Therefore,
you are to refer to me by my official
teaching name Professor Smiley. And for that slip of the tongue, 20 laps." He told him

"Alright, men." He said as I cleared my throat

"and woman" he said as I smiled

"Now before we start the next chapter in our history books I'm going to give back the pop quiz from Friday. And I want you all to take these home and bring them back signed by your parents." Professor Smiley told us handing back the test

"Well, I think I aced this one. How about you, guys?" Carlton asked us

"I think I aced it too" I told him

"I think I did just fine." Will said as Professor Smiley gave us our test as I saw a A+ on my test

I could of sworn I heard scary violins like they have in horror movies

"Do you guys here that" I asked looking around

I was at my locker putting up my books when I felt someone tap my shoulder as I turned around and saw it was Chadney

"Hi Chadney" I said smiling

"Hey Zora" he said

"So I was wondering are you free this Saturday. I two tickets to Terminator" he told me as I smiled

"Yep. I'm free. Free as a bird. That's me Zora Bird. My name actually means Bird" I told rambled

"Does it really" he asked as I shook my head

"No" I told him as he smiled

"You're cute. You know that" he asked as I smiled

"Hey Zora are we still on for Saturday" Carlton asked walking up to me wrapping his arms around my shoulders

"What ever do you mean Carlton" I gritted through my teeth

"I thought you were free Saturday" Chadney asked

"Did you forget. Forgetful Zora. We have on Study Session" Carlton told me as I fake smiled

"We surely can reschedule can't we" I asked

"Nope. We have a huge test next week we'll have to pull an all nighter" he told me

"Oh well maybe some other time" Chadney told me as he walked away

"Don't go" I whispered holding my hands out pretending to reach for him

I turned to Carlton and glared at him as he looked confused

"What" he asked as I slammed my locker door and walked away

After school I was at The Banks House sitting on the couch next to Ashley as Will was analyzing our handwriting

"And the way that you write your "A" shows that you're intelligent and playful." Will told Ashley

"Wow! You can tell all that from just my signature?" Ashley asked as he nodded

"That's amazing." Ashley said

"Do me, do me!" Hilary said smiling walking over to us

"Sign right there under Ashley." Will told her as she signed her name

"Okay. So what do you see about me?" Hilary asked

"Well, the bold vertical strokes show that you're impulsive. The large capital letters show that you're committed. And the little smiley face you use to dot your "I" shows that you got way too much time on your hands." Will told her as she smiled

"That's all true. Who does it say I'm going to marry?" Hilary asked

"Handsome movie star, who will only be happy if you spend obscene amounts of money." Will told her

"You're good." Hilary said laughing as she walked away

"Hello, everybody." Mr. Banks said walking in the house

"Hi, honey." Mrs. Banks said as she kissed her husband

"Daddy, Will knows how to analyze people's handwriting." Ashley told him

"Yes. He's quite good, sir. One look at my signature and he deduced that I was valiant
ingenious and have the strength of 10." Geoffrey said

"Hey, let me do yours, Uncle Phil." Will said

"No, Will, I don't believe in that nonsense." Mr. Banks said

"I'd hardly call it nonsense." Geoffrey said as he walked away

"Please, Mr. Banks, it's fun." I told him

"Oh, God. Alright, alright. Where do I sign?" He asked

"Oh, no, no, Uncle Phil. You deserve a fresh piece of paper. How about you, Aunt Viv?" Will said

"Sure. Why not?" Mrs. Banks said. I know exactly what he's doing. He's tricking them into signing his test

"Oh, Will, this is always such a sad moment." Carlton said walking in

"What is?" Mr. Banks asked

"Getting you and mom to sign his "Hall of Shame" History exam." Carlton told him

"History exam?" Mrs. Banks asked as she took the test out as Will glared at him

"Sorry, Will. Mom, dad, if it's any consolation
I got an "A" on the test and I must say I found it very easy." Carlton said

"Carlton, Ashley, Zora we'd like to talk to Will alone." Mr. Banks said as we walked away

"Hey are you still mad at me" Carlton asked as I glared at him

"Oh so you're not gonna talk to me" he asked as I continued giving him a blank stare

He tried to wrap his arms around me as I pushed him off

"Don't touch me" I told him as he looked down

"Look I'm sorry" he told me as I grabbed my stuff

"I need to go home" I told him as I walked out the door
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It was Saturday Night and instead of being on a date with Chadney I'm at a parent teacher board meeting with Mrs. Banks and Will

The administration will take under consideration the petition suggesting that we change the school motto to "Bel-Air Academy: Love it or go to Public School." Headmaster Armstrong said

"Any other new business?" My grandfather asked

"Headmaster Allen, I have some." Will said raising his hand

"Ah, Mr. Smith." My grandfather told him

"Well, this should certainly be fly." Headmaster Armstrong said as Will stood up

"I think the students at this school are being cheated out of a valuable learning experience. I'm talking about Coach Smiley's History class." Will said

"That's Professor Smiley, Smith. That will be 10 laps." Professor Smiley said

"What's your concern, Mr. Smith?" My grandfather asked him

"Well, we learn about George Washington
and Thomas Jefferson and all them other dudes that wound up on our money but what about Martin Luther King and Crispus Attucks
and all the other Black people that made a difference in this country? It's sorta like when there wasn't no pictures of any brothers on the wall. You know Spike Lee's movie, "Do the Right Thing?" Will asked

"I'm sorry. The last movie I saw was "Dead Poets Society." With the right headmaster that would have been a completely different story. Anyway, Coach Smiley, would you care to respond to Mr. Smith?" Headmaster Armstrong said as Will sat back down

"Alright. I'd like to make three points. First, in my course, we are trying to condense 200
and oh, some odd years of history into nine months of lessons. Obviously, we have to
concentrate on some historical figures
and exclude others." Professor Smiley said

"That's true." Headmaster Armstrong agreed

"Second, our school has a fine library,
or so I've been told where any student
who wants to can study more about Black history.

"Another good point." Headmaster Armstrong said

"Third: For years I have taught my
course from this well-respected textbook
and quite frankly, I don't know a lick more
than what's in this book. So forget it." Professor Smiley said

"But I think it's important." Will said

"And it is. Unfortunately, the school
rulebook clearly states that any requests pertaining to curriculum changes be
accompanied by--" my grandfather said

"A petition signed by a 150 student signatures. Article 4, Section 9." Will told him as he smiled

"Where'd you get ahold of that book? I mean it certainly will take some time to revise the curriculum." Headmaster Armstrong said as I stood up

"Well, what about having somebody come in
to replace Coach Smiley for a month or so
to teach some Black history?" I asked

"A month off? Armstrong, Allen, I think
these kids got something here." Professor Smiley said

"Now be that as it may, I'm sure it will be some while before we can find a teacher.
So, unless there's any other new business, this meeting is--" Headmaster Armstrong said raising his gavel

"Uh, I hate to say this, Mr. Armstrong
but it sounds to me like you're stalling." Mrs. Banks said standing up

"Not at all, Mrs. Banks We just wanna make sure that the person we get is properly qualified.

"For example, a college professor with a Ph.D
who's taught Black History and Literature
at the university level?" Mrs. Banks asked

"Where are we gonna find someone like that?" Headmaster Armstrong

"You're looking at her." My grandfather said smiling at us

"She's a shark" I whispered smiling. I always admired Mrs. Banks she's classy but she can get hood real quick like me.

"See you in a month." Professor Smiley said walking out the door

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It was Monday as I walked into History Class. I was so excited about this course I love learning at Black History

My smile dropped when Carlton ran up to me as I put my books down

"Hey Zora how was your weekend" Carlton asked as I gave him a blank stare

"Mine was too" he said as the bell as we all sat down

Chadney sat behind me and tapped my shoulder as he smiled at me as I smiled back

"Good morning, class." Mrs. Banks said walking to the desk

"Mom, I'd like to welcome you, and say on behalf of the entire class how happy
we are to have you here." Carlton said

"What did you call me, Mr. Banks?" Mrs. Banks asked

"What I always call you, "Mom." Carlton said

"My name is not Mom. My name is Professor Banks. That is how I prefer to be addressed. It that clear, class?" Mrs. Banks said

"Yes, Professor Banks." We all said

"Black American history, gentlemen and lady
from Africa, to slavery, to the present. Now we've all heard of Frederick Douglass
Martin Luther King and Booker T. Washington. But Black history includes
a lot of people whose names and faces
aren't remembered today. Now how many of you have heard the spirituals sung by the slaves?" Mrs. Banks asked as Will raised his hand

"I have." Will said raising his hand as I raised mine too

"Now listen to this.." Mrs. Banks said

♪ Follow the drinking gourd ♪
♪ Follow the drinking gourd ♪
♪ Follow the drinking gourd ♪
♪ For the old man's
waitin' for ♪
♪ To carry me to freedom ♪ she sang as we smiled

"Hey, that was pretty cool." Kellogg said as we all agreed

"Now what do you suppose the purpose of that song was?" She asked as I raised my hand

"Let me handle this one." Will whispered as I put my hand down and he stood up

"For those of you unfamiliar with the spirituals allow me to explain. The slaves used to sing them to keep their spirits up
and their minds on God in the face of all the
oppression that they suffered." Will said

"That was very well put, Mr. Smith, but you're wrong." Mrs. Banks told him

"I beg your pardon?" Will asked

"That song was written to be used as a secret code of the Underground Railroad." Mrs. Banks said as Will sat back down

"Secret code? What do you mean?" Kellogg asked

"Well, first of all, can anyone tell me what the
Underground Railroad was?" Mrs. Banks asked as I raised my hand

"Now, this one I know." Will said as I put my hand down and he stood up

"The Underground Railroad was a group of people that led the slaves to freedom." Will said

"And when was it established?" She asked

"During slavery." Will said

"Well, that covers about 250 years, Mr. Smith.
Uh, care to narrow it down a bit?" She asked

"What do you mean, right now?" Will asked

"Sit down, Mr. Smith." She told him as he sat back down

"It was established during the 1840s. Harriet Tubman, an ex-slave, was one of the leaders.
These gospel songs were actually secret messages sent to tell the runaway slaves how to get to freedom." I said

"Very good Miss Allen. For example, "The Drinking Gourd" referred to the Big Dipper.
When the slaves sang Follow the Drinking Gourd that signaled to the runaway slaves
to run towards the Big Dipper. Along the route, they would meet with the abolitionist
and escape to freedom." Mrs. Banks said

"Well, that's what I meant." Will said

"Could you teach us one of the songs, professor?" Kellogg asked as we all agreed

"Here's one called Wade in the Water. Now this song told runaway slaves that the best escape route was along the river. Now, late at night, these songs could be heard coming from the slave cabins along the route guiding the runaways to freedom." She told us

♪ Wade in the water ♪
♪ Wade in the water children ♪
♪ Wade in the water ♪
♪ God's gonna trouble
the water ♪ she sang clapping

"Everybody, join in now." She told us

♪ Wade in the water ♪ we all sang

"Come on, now." She urged

♪ Wade in the water children ♪
♪ Wade in the water ♪
♪ God's gonna
trouble the water ♪ we all sang

♪ Er-er-er er-er ♪
♪ I said wade ♪
♪ I didn't say swim ♪
♪ I didn't say
backstroke ♪
♪ I said wade ♪
♪ in the water ♪♪ Will sang as we all laughed at him

"Now, alright. Not bad, guys. Okay, next week's assignment will be a report on the Port Royal Experiment and the Penn School
written by Mr. Smith." Mrs. Banks said

"Who, me?" Will asked

"This course was your idea, Mr. Smith. I think it only fitting that you be given the honor
of the first assignment." Mrs. Banks said

"Congratulations, Will. What an honor." Carlton told him

"Mr. Smith will write the first half of the report the second half will be written by Mr. Banks

"Who, me?" Carlton asked

"And the third half will be written by Ms. Allen" Mrs. Banks said

"I expect it to be at least 15 pages typed
double-spaced, with footnotes and the bibliography." She told us

"This course was a brilliant idea Will" Carlton told him

"She's your mom" Will whispered to him

"Its not that bad. I like it" I told them. They need to suck it up I like that she's being hard on us it makes me want to work even harder

Chloe and I walked out of the gym we just got down with Cheer Practice

"Excuse me, miss. Maybe you can help me out here. I've seem to have lost all the feeling in my lips." Will asked Chloe

"Hey are you still mad at me" Carlton asked me as I didn't say anything

"Y'all want to slide out of here, get a little something to eat?" Will asked

"Will, Carlton, Zora I've been looking for you.
I think class went pretty well today, don't you?" She asked as I nodded and smiled

"It was most educational" I told her

"Yeah. Well, got to go." Carlton said

"Just a second. I've got something for you.
Now this book will help you with your research paper." She told us giving us a book

'It's about the Penn School.' 'Now Charlotte Forten was one of its first' 'Black teachers and she--" she told us as Will was flirting with Chloe

"Will! Are you listening to me?" She yelled at him

"Of course. You were talking about
the Penn School." Will said

"What did I say about the Penn School?" She asked

"It's right around the corner from the Pencil School?" Will said

"Well, thanks, mom." Carlton said

"Oh, Carlton, how many times do I have to tell you baby, tuck in your shirt! Look at you.
Honestly, Will Those eyebrows!" She said as Chloe and I walked away

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

Mrs. Banks had been our history teacher for a whole week and the whole class loves her. She's awesome. We were all out her house working on our homework as she taught us another spiritual

♪ Hush hush ♪
♪ Somebody's calling my name ♪
♪ My Jesus ♪
♪ Hush hush ♪ we all sang clapping

♪ Oh Lordie ♪ Kellogg sang

♪ Somebody's calling my name ♪
♪ Hallelujah ♪
♪ Hush ♪ we continued signing

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

It was the end of the week as Carlton, Will, and I walked into class. Carlton and I still aren't talking. Maybe I'm being over dramatic its been two weeks

Kellogg walked up to us with a dashiki on smiling

"Umoja." He told us holding his fist up

"What?" Will asked

"Umoja.It's Swahili for "Unity." Dope, huh?
I got the whole Berlitz course on cassette
for my oral report today." He told us

"Hey, Lieberbaum Did you take my Jet magazine?" Chadney asked looking in his desk

"No, I've got my own subscription." Kellogg told him

"Good morning, class." Mrs. Banks said as we all sat down

"Well, who would like to make the first oral presentation?" She asked as we all raised our hands excitedly except Will and Carlton

"Jonathan, you did your presentation yesterday." Mrs. Banks said

"But I've done a whole new presentation, just for fun." Johnathan said

"Professor Banks, before we make
our presentations we have something to say to you." Kellogg said

"A bunch of us were at Chadney's house the other night making our extra-credit dioramas
and we started talking and we agreed it was a shame that you're going to leaven at the end of the month." I told her standing up

"Oh, yeah, terrible." Carlton told het

"That's wack. Wack situation." Will said

"That's a shame." Carlton said

"So, anyway, we came up with this. It's a petition for you to become our permanent history teacher." I said smiling as she smiled at us

"Guys..I'm overwhelmed. This is very flattering." She told us

"According to the school rulebook we need a 150 signatures. And so far we've collected 148." Chadney said standing up

"We thought it'd be fun if the two signatures to put it over the top were Will and Carlton." Kellogg said

"Guys, do the honors." I told them giving them the papers as the entire class clapped

"After you, Will." Carlton said

"No, you go ahead first." Will said

"I insist." Carlton said

"She's your mom." Will said

"This class was your idea." Carlton told him

"Okay, okay, listen, guys. I'm very touched
that you want me to stay but I don't think
the university would approve." Mrs. Banks told us

"But I don't see--" Kellogg said

"Let's get back to work. Mr. Fletcher, would you care to give your report, please?" Mrs. Banks said

I was in Biology listening to our teacher lecture us when Carlton walked in with a radio and giant cue cards

"Whoa whoa whoa. Excuse me." Mr. McKay said stopping him

" Oh, sorry, Mr. McKay, but this is my grand gesture, so it'll just take one minute and nine seconds." Carlton told him

"Eh, go ahead. I need a new story for the teacher's lounge." Mr. McKay said as he put down the radio and pressed play

  ♪ listen up ♪ ♪ I'll make this snappy ♪ Carlton sang through the radio as he held up the card

♪ I only wanna make you happy ♪ ♪ I treated you kinda crappy ♪ the song continued as he changed the card

♪ though I don't want to sound too sappy ♪ ♪ the song continued as he changed the card but it was upside down

the terminology ♪  ♪ of this apology ♪ ♪ here in biology ♪ ♪ is embryology ♪ ♪ whoa ♪ ♪ he flipped through the cards trying to catch up

yeah ♪ ♪ a love once torn ♪ ♪ is now reborn ♪ ♪ if the lovely Zella ♪ ♪ forgives this fella. ♪ the song finished as he held a card with an arrow pointing to him then changed it to a card that said "Do you forgive me? Yes or No?

"My name isn't Zella" I told him

"I know I couldn't find anything that could rhyme with Fella"

"Umbrella" Kellogg asked

"Somonella" Will asked as everyone started yelling words that rhyme with Fella

"Alright" Carlton yelled shutting them up as the bell rang as they all got up and walked out the class

"That was very sweet" I told him walking up to him

"Zora. I am so sorry. I hate us not talking" he apologized

"I'm sorry too maybe I over reacted just a tiny bit" I told him

"So are we okay" Carlton asked as I smiled and grabbed a pencil and checked yes on the card

"We're okay" I said as we both smiled and hugged

"I have something else for you" he told me as he opened the door and Chadney walked in

"Chadney" I said

"Hey Zora" he told me smiling

"Hey" I said smiling as Carlton walked away as Chadney and I kept talking

After school I pushed Carlton and Will into the living room to apologize to Mrs. Banks

"Hi there, Aunt Viv." Will said

"What are you doing?" Carlton asked

"Just grading papers." She said

"The class coming over later?" Will asked

"Yeah. Maybe you can tell us more about Harriet Tubman." Carlton said

"Yeah, I never get enough of her." Will said

"I think you did get enough. You thought one month was enough." She told them

"Mom, I'm sorry if I wasn't as enthusiastic
as the rest of the guys. You're a great teacher.
It's just..I hope you don't take this the wrong way but you made our lives a living nightmare." Carlton said as I hit his shoulder

"Now how did I do that?" She asked them

"But Aunt Viv, you read me in front of the whole class. You gave us all that extra work and made us do all those reports." Will said

"I didn't hear any complaints from the rest of the class." Mrs. Banks said

"That's because you were harder on the three us." Carlton said

"I was just as tough on Zora and she wasn't complaining" Mrs. Banks said as she stood up

"I'm sorry you felt I was being hard on you
but I thought the three Black students
would actually want to get the most out of the course." She told us

"I certainly did" I told her as she looked at me and smiled

"I guess we didn't think about it that way." Will said

"Mom. This whole ugly episode it's not going to affect my grade, will it?" Carlton asked

"I'm a very tough grader, Carlton." She told him

"And you're very beautiful, mommy." Carlton told her as she walked away and so did Carlton

"Will, there's one thing I've been wondering." I told her

"What's that?" He asked me

"Why did you want a course in Black history
in the first place?" I asked

"Cause I'm interested in it." He told me

"Are you really?" I asked

"Of course." He told me

"You didn't seem happy about all the work Mrs. Banks was giving you. Weren't you the one who said if you were really interested in something, you would study hard?" I asked

"Zee, I read The Autobiography of Malcolm X
three times." He told me

"And that makes you a serious student on Black history?" I asked

"That's a very important book." He told me

"Will, you can read that book you can wear the T-shirts, you can put up the posters and you can shout the slogans but unless you know all the history behind it you're trivializing the entire struggle. Now you started something very good here but it's up to you, to follow through on it." I told him giving him my book as I walked away

I looked around the corner and saw him reading it as I smiled 

"I heard everything you told him. Well said. Miss Allen" Mrs. Banks told me walking up to me as I smiled 

"I learned from the best because when I grow up I wanna be just like you" I said as she hugged me smiling