i was quite the pyro in middle school
I set things on fire all of the time in middle school - Somehow, the 11-14 age group seems ripe for it. It had actually got to the point where for my 13th birthday, some friends at school got me a zippo that was engraved with the word "PYRO".

For some reason, I though it it would be an interesting project to create a circle of gasoline in the garage, and see what happened when I set it on fire. LLo and behold, it burned -- and it burned spectacularily, producing a column of flame that visibly want up to the roof of the garage. The roof of the garage was mostly insulation, so this was a particularily scary, as well as strangely fascinating.

We stood there admiring it for a while before we realized the potentially disasterous consequences, and grabbed the closest thing we could find to put out the fire -- which happened to be a pitcher of Kool-Aid. It did the trick.

The outside view must have been really cool as I opened the garage door, with black smoke billowing out.

I probably would have got away with it, except the whole basement smelled like air freshener -- Whenever my Mom smelled that, she knew that something had bene burning, and I was instantly grounded.

She also unexpectedly came home once to me and a friend trying to set a report card on fire so we could legitimately claim that it was lost -- It was pretty comical, with me holding a report card and lighter fluid behind my back. She asked what was in my hands, so I showed one hand, empty. She asked about the other, so in total cartoon style, thinking I was being smart, I switched out the contraband behind my back, and showed another empty hand. She was not amused.

We also created a flaming pentagram in our driveway once -- It was for a photography project. Our more conservative neighbors never spoke to the family again after that one.
(mysticmcj, Wed 3 Mar 2004, 8:31, Reply)