But tonight was just for fun I can’t believe we go back to school on Tuesday Mitch said This is our last blast of summer Amy nodded She loved school so heading back after the summer break didn’t bother her But she’d been looking forward to this Labor Day weekend campfire Just don’t get rowdy Amy said Let’s keep it quiet Mitch howled Like werewolves Or goblins said Barry We’ve seen our share of those around here 8
Amy closed her eyes and smiled I can be peaceful by myself she thought No ghosts tonight No zombies Stan nudged Amy and offered her a toasted marshmallow I’ll wait she said Not hungry The flames were always interesting It was similar to watching clouds and imagining what they looked like But the flames changed quicker than clouds Sometimes they looked like eerie claws One of the claws seemed to reach for her Hey she squeaked as the 9
flame extended She leaned back and shivered She was glad she’d brought her sweatshirt What said Stan Nothing Amy stared into the fire The claw was gone Are you seeing things Amy asked Jared Maybe Amy laughed Or it’s just my imagination She watched the flames which were bright orange with streaks of yellow A burning log rolled gently and a few sparks shot into the air 10
Mitch started telling a ghost story It reminded Amy of an encounter they’d had at Evergreen Cemetery behind his house Remember that ice-cold pocket of air It was a hot night like tonight But we walked through that icy ghost stream You can’t deny that The other boys chimed in with recent scares Amy had been with them for some of those events They tended to exaggerate but she had no doubt that ghosts were real She had seen them herself many times 11
