I ask, as we walk toward a bench outside the cafeteria. Zoe’s laughter bellows out of her lungs. If there’s one thing I’ve noticed in the short amount of time that I’ve known her, it’s that she loves to laugh. It’d almost be adorable, if she wasn’t always laughing at my expense. “There are alligators. I suppose.” She shrugs her shoulders and sits down. I watch as she carefully unwraps her breakfast burrito and sighs a little as she takes the first bite. With a mouth full of eggs, bacon and cheese, she turns to face me. “I haven’t seen any crawling around campus or anything, but I know the closer to the bayou you get, there’s tons of creepy things lurking around.” My taste buds savor the cinnamon and cream cheese that’s dancing on my tongue. Taking a drink of my iced coffee I ask, “Have you ever been on one of those swamp tours?” “You sound like you did your research.” She slants her eyes suspiciously. “I thought you left the playing-it-safe side of you at home.”
