The first impression I had of the Everglades was tranquility. It was night and the sky was ebony with stars twinkling like Christmas lights. I could see the constellations as Mr. Parrish pointed them out to our club. One of my favorites that he pointed out was the Ursa Major, the magnificient bear that ruled the night sky. As I looked up at the Seven Sisters, another constellation that looked back down on me. It made me feel small. At the moment I knew how ants feel.

Students were milling around, whispering to one another like best friends spilling out their secrets. They would point out things to each other and shine the flashlights out in the swampy marsh like candles shining their light. Mr. Parrish and Mrs. Owen constantly had to shush us like we were young children. "You're going to scare Mother Nature away," Mr. Parrish scolded. "You're like kids sprinting towards the ice cream truck on a hot summer day."

The scent of the marsh crawled up my nose and Id realized that it would be a scent I would never forget. It was so different from the suburban air I was used to but I embraced the change. It made me feel more alive as love makes elders feel younger. Somehow I knew I had never smelled something so wonderful before. I wished my friends back home could smell it too.

Even though my impression of the Everglades is tranquility, there was a sense of eeriness as well. As my friend, TJ, and I peered over the bridge, we looked down at the murky water. Red eyes soon appeared, piercing our gazes. Somewhere in the distance, a bired called out, making TJ and I shiver. "Those red eyes are gators,"Mr. Parrish whispered in our ears. "When they are antagonized, they hiss and that's when you know you need to run as fast as a cheetah chasing after its prey. Hopefully we won't hear that sound tonight." Mr. Parrish rasped before walking away. TJ and I stared right into the hypnotic eyes of the alligator and it hissed like an angry cat. We left the bridge and quickly headed toward the front of the group like mice needing protection from the owl.

The group walked slowly, listening to the tour guide rant on and on about all the animals in the Everglades. I thought he would never stop talking. I liked it much better when it was just me and TJ. All you could hear was the crocodiles and alligators swimming and hissing, the birds singing its eerie song and our breathing. Now the whole scene was destroyed by the asinine tour guide. As we neared the exit, a light shone out to us, coaxing us to go back onto the bus and take a good night's rest.