The last month of senior year means a bunch of different things for seniors but one of the most important is Senior Assassin. Everyone gets crazy competitive to win the prize money, which totals around $2000.00 this year.
No one really knows when the tradition started, but everyone knows of it. Seniors get into teams and each team gets a target. Eliminate your targets with a water gun but to stay safe you have to wear goggles or floaties. Safe zones include anything on SHS grounds, workplaces while clocked in, and gyms, but everything else is fair game.
There are too many rules to keep count of and they are always changing. If someone gets out and complains it turns into an investigation for the admins to figure out what exactly happened. You can only see so much from a shaky video camera. But watching all the videos has to be one of the best parts. You can see the disappointment and scared faces from the people being sneaked up on and the excitement and celebrations from the one with the water gun.
Vrunda Desai, senior, was taken out outside of her temple, Shayler Smith, senior, was eliminated outside a middle school D.A.R.E. dance where she volunteered, and Brody Selong, senior, was doing lawn work.
People start to hide behind cars, run through stores, and wait outside people’s houses. Seniors report always feel on edge and like they are constantly being watched or followed. The worst part is seniors can’t trust anyone, even your own best friends. Kadeja Awada, senior, was assigned her twin brother, Abdul Awawda, senior, but her team encouraged her to hold off as part of a master plan to take out members of his team while still anonymous and she was eliminated before she could eliminate him.
The real chaos begins when the admins call purge days. All protection is gone and anyone can eliminate anyone.
The group chat is blows up with videos of people getting out. Mariana Ponce-Vazquez was eliminated at dawn as the sun was coming up, making the video dark and grainy.
No immunity days are Friday through Sunday. None of your protection counts if hit. Purge days and no immunity days became the highlight of each week. It gave everyone the chance to go after their targets or anyone they chose.
When the second purge was called, people started to drop like flies. Almost half the groups playing got out.
“After I got out I was really mad but also relieved I didn’t have to play anymore, but once the admins told me I was back in, I was so happy I said I would never let that happen again,” Sami Fares, senior, said.
Each week the admins send stats with all the teams who are eliminated, the ones who are at risk of being eliminated, the king and queen killers, and how many people are left.
As someone who participated in Senior Assassin, I can say that the relief and excitement you feel when you get your target out is unimaginable. My heart raced waiting for my target to walk out, from making sure I was recording, and especially making sure I couldn’t be seen. I got a big adrenaline rush when it was done because it was so exciting but also terrifying. But what makes it special wasn’t the competitiveness and suspense, it was the energy. From the laughter from failed attempts to waiting and watching for updates and clips. all made this game memorable for the seniors.
Instead of counting down the days and just going through the motions, everyone was a part of something chaotic, funny, and thrilling.
