Pre

“You’re too small Pre.” “Pre you’ll never amount to anything.” “Only in your dreams Pre.” 14 year old Pre Gaddis has been told all of his life that he’s too small to amount to anything. Pre believed every single word of those people that put him down, but after a family tragedy, Pre begins to believe in himself…
"Pre! Hurry up or else we're going to be late for school!" Pre's younger sister Miranda yelled. Miranda had brown hair and brown eyes that made guys melt. She recently celebrated her 13th birthday in November. Miranda was 5'4'' and weighed 110 pounds. She was very popular and had pierced her belly button and tongue. Her life revolved around dance. Miranda spent hours working on her moves to the music of Janet Jackson and Pink. Sometimes, Miranda made up her own dance routines. Miranda was also part of her school dance team, the Fallen Angels. She also had over come a dark childhood as she was sexually abused by her mother's boyfriend when she was younger.
Pre on the other hand, was 5'3'' and weighed 135 pounds. He had shaggy brown hair, similar to the mop top hairstyle made popular by The Beatles in the 1960's. Pre loved basketball but didn't think he was good enough to try out for the school team. He mostly kept to himself. In his spare time, Pre played guitar and spent countless hours studying his favorite guitarist Jimmy McCulloch, who was best known for being the lead guitarist in Paul McCartney's band Wings from 1974-1977.
It was now December, the snow was starting to fall on the Oregon ground, and the Gaddis kids were anxious for winter break which was only a few days away.
"Yeah yeah I'm coming! Hold your horses!" Pre said as he stumbled out of bed. Pre was in no rush to get to school as he had a huge History test just waiting for him. Finally, Pre was ready.
"Man you take longer then a girl to get ready!" Miranda said laughing as she ate her breakfast, which consisted of waffles, cereal and orange juice.
"Whatever! Let's go, we don't want to be late." Pre said quickly as he scooted past his sister.
Miranda and Pre got to school just in the nick of time. You could say they were "saved by the bell." Pre hurried to his 1st hour History class. "Ah nice of you to join us Pre. Please take your seat." Mr. Frye said. Mr. Frye had the reputation of being a tough and demanding teacher who expected the most out of his students. Pre had never really taken school seriously and had always done enough just enough to get by. Miranda, on the other hand, was another story. She took school very seriously and was considered a model student by her fellow students and teachers.
"What is the point of this stupid test?" Pre mumbled to himself. The test was over European Socialism. "I mean what's the point? I'm not European, I don't plan on being European. So who gives a crap if they're socialists?" Pre wondered outloud, causing Mr. Frye to look up from grading papers.
"Pre, what did you just say?" Mr. Frye asked while cleaning his glasses.
"You heard me old boy." Pre said with a smile.
"That's it! Get your books and get out of my classroom!" Mr. Frye demanded as he opened the door.
"See ya, wouldn't wanna be ya!" Pre said as he walked out of the classroom. This was the 2nd time that Pre had gotten kicked out of Mr. Frye's class. If Pre got kicked out again, that would mean removal from the class and an "F."
"So I heard you got kicked out of Mr. Frye's classroom again?" Miranda asked her brother as they walked home from school.
"Yeah so?" Pre said, looking down at the snowy sidewalk.
"I wish you would take school more seriously. You're a smart person, you just need to apply yourself." Miranda told her brother as she patted him on the shoulder.
"Yeah right...." Pre said shaking his head.
"I'm serious bro. Also, I think that you should go out for basketball next year. You are a good athlete and you have got some skills on the basketball court." Miranda said warmly.
"Everybody tells me I'm too small. They say that I'll never amount to anything. The only way I will ever amount to anything is if it happens in my dreams!" Pre said almost on the verge of tears.
"Who cares what everybody says about you? Who cares if you are a little short!? The point is you are a smart person with good athletic talent. I believe in you." Miranda said, trying to comfort her brother.
"Thanks Miranda... you are the best sister in the world. I don't know what I would do without you." Pre said, hugging Miranda.
During Christmas break, Pre and Miranda got to go to a Portland Trail Blazers game. Miranda’s friend Ashley Pond also went with them. Ashley was 12 years old and had black hair and brown eyes. Ashley was a very shy and quiet girl. She was also 5'4'' and weighed 110 pounds. She was on the same dance team as Miranda. The two girls also rode the same bus, and attended the same middle school. Miranda and Ashley both overcame being sexually abused as children. In Ashley's case, she was sexually abused by her biological father over a period of 4 years as Ashley often spent the weekends with her father. Her dad is scheduled to go on trial for child abuse later in the fall.
The Trail Blazers were playing Miranda and Pre’s favorite team, the Sacramento Kings. Decked out in their Sacramento gear, the kids stood out in the crowd. The basketball game was great and the Kings prevailed 102-99. Kings Point Guard Mike Bibby hit the game winning three pointer as time expired. As the Kings were walking off the court, Ashley, Miranda and Pre got close enough so that they could give the them a high five. It was an awesome experience, especially for 3 kids.
Before anyone knew it, school had started back up again. On January 7th, Ashley was invited to stay the night at the Gaddis’s house. What Ashley told Miranda that night however, were some dark secrets.
“Miranda…I have some stuff to tell you,” Ashley said slowly as she fiddled with a pencil.
“What is it Ash?” Miranda asked as she finished drinking her Diet Mt. Dew.
“You are my best friend and you are the only one I can tell about this. You know how I went on a vacation to California with our neighbor Ward Weaver and his family?” Ashley said cautiously.
“Yeah, what about it? Did something happen to you?” Miranda asked curiously.
“Yes something happened to me. The Weaver family and I were having a good time and then all of a sudden one day Ward became violent and started abusing me. He…he raped me Miranda! I don’t know what I did to deserve it!” Ashley cried out, the tears overflowing.
"Oh my gosh...." was all Miranda could muster as tears started rolling down her cheeks.
"Yeah and he threatened me by telling me that if I told anybody, that he would testify aganist me in my father's abuse trial," Ashley said trembling.
"I am glad that you told me. No matter how scared you are, you need to go to the police with this information. Weaver will be in jail and out of your life." Miranda calmly told her friend.
"Thanks Miranda! I will do that Monday after school. Anyway, are you excited about our upcoming dance competition vs Star Dance Academy?" Ashley asked, putting Weaver out of her mind.
"Oh yeah! I am really excited to go up aganist them. The team is from Indiana and they are nationally ranked and should provide tough competition. I hope that you and I get to go aganist their top two dancers, Jennifer Cardinale and Kimi Boyd." Miranda said, bouncing up and down with excitement.
Two days later, Ashley Pond was waiting for the school bus when she suddenly disappeared.....
"I wonder where Ash was today? She wasn't at school or at dance practice. I hope she is ok...." Miranda thought as she walked her dog Mitzi that night. When Miranda got back to her house, she was met with terrible news.
"Miranda! Miranda! Ashley's missing!" Pre said as he ran towards her.
"NOOO!" Miranda screamed as she ran as fast as she could to her room, locked the door and bawled her eyes out.
"What do you want with me!?" Ashley Pond frightenedly asked her abductor, who was none other then Ward Weaver.
"Shut up! I just wanted to see how you were doing and if you wanted something to drink." Weaver said as he pulled out 2 glasses and a bottle of whiskey. Ashley was trapped with no way to escape.
That night, as Miranda was getting ready for bed, she looked out her window. It was a beautiful January night with the stars shining. All of a sudden, she saw a shooting star shoot across the stary night. "I wish that my friend, Ashley Pond will return safely to us. I miss you Ash." Miranda said softly, trying to hold back tears. Then, Miranda turned her attention to Ward Weaver's house and saw him carrying a shovel. It looked like he just got done burying something.
"That's strange...I wonder what he is burying at this time of night." Miranda thought as she climbed into bed.
"Come on now Ashley, only one more bottle of whiskey left. Drink up!" Weaver said, after he came inside from burying something.
"No, I never wanted to drink in the first place, secondly I am only 12 years old, and lastly, I don't feel very good." Ashley responded bravely.
"You are going to drink that last goddamn bottle of whiskey if you like it or not! Open your mouth!" Weaver demanded as he opened the bottle.
"No!" Ashley yelled as she ran for the door. There was a glimor of hope for Ashley but Weaver grabbed her just as she was about to get to the door. Weaver then forced the whiskey down Ashley's throat and then bound her hands and feet with rope and cords.
Over the next few days, Oregon City police interviewed Miranda and Ashley's other friends. Miranda was also interviewed by a local television station and was extremely nervous throughout the interview, giggling her way through it. She thought that Ashley had probably just taken off somewhere.
Miranda was worn out by the time her dance competition rolled around a couple of weeks later. Miranda had been extremely involved in Ashley's investigation. She offered the police personal information that Ashley had shared with her. Ashley's dissappearence had hit Miranda hard. She had stopped eating and was losing weight. Miranda had lost 10 pounds by the time the dance competition rolled around.
"Hey look Kimi, there's Miranda. Let's go and talk to her. I am sure that she is going through a really difficult time, with her friend missing and all." Jennifer Cardinale told her best friend Kimi Boyd as they saw Miranda walking into the gym. Jennifer or Jen as she liked to be called, was 13 years and had black hair and brown eyes. She stood 5'7''. She loved to write, sing and hang out with her friends, family and boyfriend, Paul. Kimi was 12 years old and was 5'5''. She had brownish-blonde hair and brown eyes. She loved playing the guitar and writing songs as well as hanging out with her friends and family.
"Yeah...I feel really bad for her. I hope she's doing alright." Kimi responded quietly.
Miranda was just about to put in her favorite cd, Meline Collie and the Infinate Sadness by The Smashing Pumpkins into her portable cd player when she saw the two girls coming towards her.
"Hi Jen, hey Kimi," Miranda said quietly.
"Hey Miranda! How are you doing?" Kimi and Jen said together.
"Oh I am doing fine I guess," Miranda said, holding back tears.
"Well that's good. We're sorry to hear about Ashley...I am sure she's fine! We just need to find her, that's all," Kimi said, smiling at Miranda.
"Yeah well let's hope...I got to go get ready for my routine. Good luck you two...and thanks." Miranda said as she gathered her dance uniform which consisted of a white shirt with her school's initials on it, black fish net sleeves and blue army pants.
After Miranda was all set and ready to go, she went to go find one of her best friends on the team, Lauren Jones. Lauren was 13 years old and had blonde hair and blue eyes. She also wore glasses and stood 5'5''. She was a multi talented athlete whose best sports were cross country, basketball and track.
Before every competition, it was tradition for Miranda and Lauren to huddle together and say a little prayer. The prayer that they said before this dance competition however, was very emotional.
"Dear Lord, Lauren and Miranda here. We come before you tonight to ask that you watch over the Fallen Angels dance squad and the Star Dance Academy as we compete in what should be an exciting dance competition. Also, we ask that you watch over our teammate and friend Ashley Pond as she was kidnapped two weeks ago. We are all praying for her safe return. Ash, we love you and hope that you come back to us soon. God bless and Amen."
The dance competition went really well. It was extremely entertaining. Both squads did great and everybody was able to enjoy a night out and not having to worry about what had taken place just a couple of weeks earlier.
After getting home from the competition however, Miranda went to her room and started crying. She was scared that what happened to Ashley, could happen to her as well.
Ashley Pond stood weakly by the window, looking out it, hearing the birds chirp made her smile. She had been badly beaten, raped and forced to drink alot of alcohol. Weaver then took her down to the basement and left her in a secluded room and left her with little food and water. Ashley looked out the window one more time and said weakly, "Mom, mom where are you? Help me." Ashley Pond then closed her eyes.
A couple of hours later, Weaver's 12 year old daughter Mallori went down to the basement to get an ice cold bottle of Sprite when she noticed what looked like a door behind some boxes. Overcome by curiousity, Mallori decided to see what was behind the door. The door handle was stuck but Mallori finally managed to open it when all of her strength. She gasped in horror as she saw the beaten, lifeless body of her friend Ashley Pond.
Mallori screamed and ran upstairs sobbing uncontrollably when she ran into her dad.
"What's wrong Mallori?" Weaver asked, concerned as he watched his daughter back away from him slowly.
"Oh nothing....I just found the body of my friend Ashley Pond. Why did you do it!? Why!?" Mallori yelled as tears ran down her cheeks.
"I did it because I had to. Let's just leave it at that." Weaver said, matter of factly.
"I'm going to the police...they deserve to know about this. You killed my friend!" Mallori said, smacking her father.
"You're not going to the police...you aren't going to tell a soul!" Weaver said as he got a belt and hit Mallori so hard with the belt it left marks.
"Now...you aren't going to tell anybody are you?
"No sir...." Mallori said, wincing in extreme pain as blood dripped from her forehead.
A month passed as the nation continued to search for Ashley Pond, not knowing that the girl was dead. On February 23, it was Mallori's 13th birthday and to celebrate, Mallori held a slumber party. A lot of people attended, including Miranda Gaddis. At the party, Miranda told her friends that Weaver had abused Ashley and was afraid that she would end up getting abused also. She also told her friends to stay away from the house because she felt that Weaver was dangerous.
A couple of weeks later, the school dance team decided to do a March 23rd benefit to raise money in the search for Ashley. Miranda started spending hours after school coming up with a solo routine. She also made signs and passed out flyers at school.
On March 8th, just before leaving for school, Miranda checked up on her older brother Pre, as he was sick with the flu. After seeing that he was alright, Miranda headed out the door to the bus stop. There was an early out scheduled for that day, and after school, Miranda was scheduled to walk with a friend to the home of her dance coach, to baby sit her kids. Miranda never made it to the bus stop, like her friend Ashley Pond, Miranda herself disappeared. She was abducted by Ward Weaver.
"Hey Miranda...nice to see you. I've heard you think I molested Ashley, is that right?" Weaver asked, as he tied Miranda's hands together with rope.
"Yeah that's right, I know it, and so does everybody else. You aren't going to get away with this." Miranda responded matter of factly.
"Is that so? Well I've got something to show you...perhaps you might recoginize her," Weaver said as he led Miranda downstairs to the basement, to the room where Ashley's body rested.
"Oh my god...." Miranda gasped, and then kicked Weaver where it hurt and then turned around and headed for the door. Miranda was trapped however, as she was unable to open the door, with her hands tied behind her back.
"Oh don't worry...you'll be meeting your friend Ashley real soon..." Weaver said with a sick smile on his face.
Mallori Weaver had just gotten home from school that day when she thought she heard a scream.
"That's funny...for a second I thought I heard Miranda screaming." Mallori thought as she got herself something to eat out of the refridgerator. She then saw her dad come upstairs from the basement, his hands and shirt covered in blood. Mallori didn't even ask.
On March 11th, Mallori had to excuse herself from attending a school vigil that was being held for Ashley and Miranda, as Mallori had to help her dad pour concerate in the backyard. What the school didn't know is that Mallori had to help her father bury the bodies of the two girls.
More then 5 months passed with no trace of the girls. Finally, on August 23rd, the bodies of Ashley Pond and Miranda Gaddis were found in Ward Weaver's backyard. Ashley Pond was found buried under a concrete slab, while Miranda Gaddis was found stuffed heartlessly inside a cardboard box inside a tool shed.
For Pre Gaddis, learning the fate of his sister and Ashley's death took an extreme toll. For awhile, Pre became an outcast, not talking to anybody. He blamed himself for Miranda's passing. "If only I wouldn't have been sick that day. I could have prevented Miranda from suffering a horrible fate." On November 18th, which would have been Miranda's 14th birthday.Something inside Pre clicked. He remembered a conversation that Miranda and him had a few months before she disappeared.
"So I heard you got kicked out of Mr. Frye's classroom again?" Miranda asked her brother as they walked home from school.
"Yeah so?" Pre said, looking down at the snowy sidewalk.
"I wish you would take school more seriously. You're a smart person, you just need to apply yourself." Miranda told her brother as she patted him on the shoulder.
"Yeah right...." Pre said shaking his head.
"I'm serious bro. Also, I think that you should go out for basketball next year. You are a good athlete and you have got some skills on the basketball court." Miranda said warmly.
"Everybody tells me I'm too small. They say that I'll never amount to anything. The only way I will ever amount to anything is if it happens in my dreams!" Pre said almost on the verge of tears.
"Who cares what everybody says about you? Who cares if you are a little short!? The point is you are a smart person with good athletic talent. I believe in you." Miranda said, trying to comfort her brother.
"Thanks Miranda... you are the best sister in the world. I don't know what I would do without you." Pre said, hugging Miranda.
Pre became determined not to let his sister down. His grades began to improve, he started becoming sociable in school, and in the winter, he tried out for the basketball team, earning a starting spot.
"Miranda, I made the basketball team today! I am the starting shooting guard for the team too! I've also improved my grades, I made the 1st quarter honor roll with a 3.1 GPA. I miss you alot and I wish you were here. I love you." Pre Gaddis told Miranda as he looked up into the sky, knowing that Miranda was looking down upon him, smiling.
Sometimes it takes a tragedy to make someone believe in themselves.......