Ryan chuckled. “You’re gonna pour the vodka down the slide, set it on fire, and slide down through the flames.”

“Fuck yeah. And you guys are going to film it.”

“Holy shit,” Black Ryan protested. “What about your balls?”

“My balls will be fine. Jeans aren’t that flammable.”

“Tell us when,” Ryan said eagerly, holding out his phone.

Liam didn’t say anything. He wanted to leave, but he also kind of wanted to see what happened.

Bruce squatted down at the top of the slide. He held the bottle in his left hand and cocked it down, ready to pour. His right hand held the lighter. He flicked it with his thumb and a flame sprang up and then died. He flicked it again. And again.

“Fuck, I’m still high,” he muttered.

The other three boys stared up at him, mesmerized.

“One, two, three… fuck. One, two, three… when!” Bruce shouted.

Liam hit record. Vodka sluiced down the metal slide. Bruce made contact with the lighter’s flame and the whole slide glimmered orangely.

“Here I fucking go!” Bruce yelled and smacked his butt down on the path of fire.

He didn’t slide much. He was just sitting there.

“Holy shit, I’m like… look at me.”

The three other boys couldn’t look away.

“Fuck, my shoelaces.” Bruce kicked his way down the slide and sat down on the ground. “I think I ruined my pants. And my shoes. That was fun though.” The slide wasn’t on fire anymore. The other boys stopped recording.

“That was kind of lame,” Black Ryan said.

Liam smiled down at his phone screen. It was totally lame.

“I thought it was pretty cool,” Ryan said. “We should post it on YouTube or something.”

Bruce stood up and smacked at his pant legs. “Yup. These jeans are fucked.”

“They smell weird too,” Ryan said.

“That’s not his jeans.” Black Ryan pointed to where smoke was curling up from behind the slide.

Liam squinted in the lamplight. He got down on all fours. The pile of dried leaves beneath the slide had ignited. Something within the pile popped and the flames grew higher. It was quite a fire.

“Oh shit,” Liam said.

“No fucking way. This is fucking awesome!” Bruce squealed. “Dudes, come on, we have to split!”

He turned and ran toward the exit. The two Ryans were right behind him.

“Hey!” Liam shouted after them.

Something else popped inside the fire. It sounded like bottles exploding. Sparks rose into the air. The metal slide glimmered hotly.

“Hey, assholes!” Liam shouted, and then wished he hadn’t. The boys were long gone. He flipped up his hood and stuffed his hands in his pockets, backing away from the fire, out the schoolyard entrance and onto the sidewalk, his heart pounding.

“Hey, stop!” someone shouted behind him.

Liam stepped into the street and broke into a run.