"How's the fire coming along Siān?" I yelled from my tent.

Siān, my best friend, looked up at me with a frown. I could tell she was having a hard time getting the flames going so I poked fun at her while I pitched the tents.

"Come on let me know." I yelled out, a smile drawing bigger on my face.

"Go to hell Lex!" Siān yelled back at me.

I shook my head as she flipped me off and went back to concentrating on the fire. We both knew that it would have been so much easier to light had someone remembered to at least bring a box of matches. Unfortunately we had no lighters and no matches. I considered myself the best at pitching tents so that was my duty. Not that I'm complaining because I know I wouldn't be able to light a fire using rocks.

"Here, maybe try using the lens from my glasses." Shanii said as she handed over her glasses.

"You're losing daylight bitch, so no chit chat." I teased.

By the time the sun set our camp was all set up. Our fire was going steadily as we made supper and roasted marshmallows. The tents were secured and neatly laid out in a semi circle. Our little group of 5 made for good conversation and interesting arguments. The only thing missing now was some good old fashioned campfire ghost stories.

"Okay. So who's going first?" Kaylene declared before I could.

We had always pretty much known what the other was thinking. It was one of the reasons we had become good friends. I watched everyone else as we waited in silence. Shanii was the first to go. She gave us a good story, but it wasn't all that scary in my opinion. Michaela went next with the story of the white woman. A woman who killed herself after killing her children. A tale I've heard before, but still enjoyed listening to. Siān went next with a bone chilling tale of something in the woods waiting for its next meal. A hopeless soul that wanders too far off the beaten path.

"Okay, let's dial it back a bit." I said with a smile. "I'll go next with a well known folk tale. Well, it's a folk tale that's well known by Australians."

"Is that why you wanted to come to Australia for our holiday trip?" Michaela asked, slightly frowning.

I shrugged and smiled at her. She knew why I did things the way I did. It's what made our friendship fun.

"Maybe? Anyway, here's the tale." I moved forward a bit. "Waltzing Matilda is said to haunt a 'billabong', that's like a lake of some sort I believe." 

I took my phone out and started playing the song softly in the background as I spoke. I knew it wasn't really scary but who said I couldn't try making it sound scarier. As I watched my friends' faces I knew they weren't really freaked out by it.

"... He wanted his freedom rather than letting anyone lock him up. So he jumped into the billabong and drowned. Now his ghost wanders looking for someone to wander around with him. That's basically all." I finished with a smile. "Not as scary as you would think, but still a really good tale."

Kaylene nodded. "Yeah it really wasn't all that scary, but I like the idea behind it. Maybe that ghost is with us right now. We better watch out, unless you want to drown yourself."

Siān nodded her head with a wide grin. "Maybe he's waiting to steal our food when we sleep. You better watch out, we'll starve to death without food."

The three of us laughed while Michaela and Shanii looked at us with disapproving frowns. Michaela believed in ghosts and stuff like that so I could understand why she didn't approve of us poking fun. I mean I had to admit that I believed in ghosts too, but I always made light of it. Shanii didn't exactly believe in ghosts and probably just thought we were being ridiculous or stupid.

"Okay so I believe Kaylene still has a story to tell." I said finally, trying to change the subject.

" Oh yes! I have the perfect story. But I need water." Kaylene jumped up.

The rest of us waited while Kaylene seemingly set up the scene for her story. It took less than a minute for her to come back frowning. We all asked what was wrong and she showed us the almost empty water bottle. We hadn't realised just how much water we had used already.

"I thought there was more in the van but this is all there is." Kaylene shrugged.

"I spotted a lake nearby when we drove here. I can go fill it." Shanii offered.

I was under the impression that she was tired of the ghost stories we were telling. Or she was upset that we were making fun of the stories. She was always the quietest one out of all of us. Shanii took the bottle from Kaylene and picked up a flashlight before making her way towards the lake.

"She best watch out for the swagman." Siān joked softly.

Kaylene and I nodded our heads smiling like a pair of Cheshire Cats. Michaela rolled her eyes.

"Maybe one of us should have gone with her." Michaela said, trying to see if Shanii was still visible.

"She took our second flashlight so you'd have to go after her in the dark." I said sticking my tongue out at Michaela.