Arrest

I have a pending court date for shoplifting. it was for $28 and i live in California. I have a clean record-not even a traffic ticket and I am attending a good university nearby. I do not want this even on my record and want to know if there is a way that it will not even show up. I keep reading that its possible for there to be no conviction but how will i be able to make it so it seems as though nothing even happened. My main concern is what shows up on my background check when i apply for jobs. I also read that "arrests" will show up and I am not quite sure what an "arrest" is. I was detained by LP at the store and the cop was called but i was not put in jail or anything. is this still called an arrest?
and is there any way to take this off?
if not, and the arrest is the only thing that shows on the record w/o the shoplifting incident, couldnt i say that there was a mistake which was later cleared up which is why there's only an arrest without any conviction.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Talk to a criminal defense Attorney about Diversion this can keep a conviction off your record. You may contact Police and see if you have an arrest record if so in a few years you can have it expunged