Lou Del Bianco   Corroded Margaret

CORRODED MARGARET
By Lou Del Bianco


Once there was a girl I knew named Margaret. Now Margaret wasn't cool like other kids; I mean, she didn't play sports or wear lip gloss; she even did her homework on Friday nights!

Margaret was very quiet and shy, so to all of "the boys" that made her CORRODED!!!

So, the boys didn't call her Margaret, they called her
CORRODED MARGARET!! (ew, it's her,give me cootie shot! etc.)

Do you know what those same boys called me? DOUFUS!! HA,HA HA!!!

I was tall and skinny, I couldn't hit the baseball, I was always walking into things and I cried every time someone looked at me funny. I guess you could say Margaret and I had a lot in common! But I hung around with "the boys" just so they wouldn't call me names.

One day, I was all alone minding my own business, when as usual
I walked into something....(crash) It was Margaret!
There she was, wearing an uncool dress, and very uncool plastic frame glasses.

"Why do you hang around with "them?" she asked in her squeaky, little voice.

"Cause they're cool! Uh, cause they're nice?... Alright, so they won't call me "Doufus"..........

That's when Margaret laughed. I mean, really laughed. I didn't mind because I knew she understood. We did have a lot in common, and since "the boys" weren't around, Margaret and I decided to hang out for the afternoon..........

We went to the movies
We ate too much ice cream
We even made believe we were "cool"

We had a good time and I decided to walk her home. There we were, "Doufus" and the "Corroded One", walking hand and hand, feeling good,talking, laughing, rounding the corner and BAM!!! we walked right smack into-"the boys!"................

"HEY, WHAT ARE YOU DOIN WITH CORRODED MARGARET-YOU DOUFUS!! ...YEH, DOUFUS!! ....








CORRODED MARGARET
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Oh, no-what do I do? I looked at "the boys", then I looked at Margaret. She was looking right at me and I couldn't help it, it just came out-

"EW, I'M NOT WITH HER! CORRODED MARGARET!-HEY, GIVE ME A COOTIE SHOT!...YEH, GIVE HIM A COOTIE SHOT!

I ran away with "the boys". I didn't even look back to see if Margaret was still there. Then one of them grabbed my arm ...................

WHO SAID YOU COULD COME WITH US? GET OUT OF HERE, YOU BIG
DOUFUS!!! YEH, GET OUT....

They pushed me away and told me to run, so I did! Man, did I feel like a Doufus! I ran and ran until "the boys" were completely out of sight. And of course, as usual, I ran right smack into something.......BAM!........it was Margaret again!

"Uh, hi?" I said stupidly, because I didn't know what to say.
Margaret looked up at me long and hard. She made me feel about the size of a flea. Then she turned and ran away, and I could hear her choking back the tears..........

Soon after that, Margaret moved away; I never saw her again.
But ever since that day, whenever I was about to call someone "pizza face" or "fatso" or even "doufus" I thought of Margaret's face, looking up at me long and hard and choking back the tears, and it always made me think twice.....always..........