Amidst April and with May on the horizon, that time of the year comes again: Senior Assassin. Senior Assassin is a competition between the seniors where people group into pairs and must “assassinate” their given targets. If they don’t “assassinate” their target within 2 weeks of it being assigned to them, they are eliminated and do not move on to the next round.

Now, when I say “assasinate,” I mean spraying someone with a water gun. While senior assassin may seem like just a competition, it has become so much more—a tradition that bonds the seniors together andtranscends their relationships from classmates to peers and companions. Julia Garcia, who is Stanford bound, said that senior assassins “bring the grade together on the basis that [they] all have something to talk about.”

Each player contributes 10 dollars to play, meaning each group pays 20 dollars. At the start, there were 47 teams (yes you read that right, 47 teams), resulting in a pot of 940 dollars. If you thought this was just a little friendly competition, think again! This serves as a test of bravery, valor, heroism, and intrepidity for the seniors. Currently, as I am writing this article, we are in the middle of the 3rd round of senior assassins. Once at 47 teams, now only 6 remain 😈😈😈(devil emoji for dramatic effect to show how wild it is that so many teams have already been eliminated in just the third round). A notable senior that has been eliminated is Keyen Gupta, class president and golf phenom.

Now, for the most important part, who I think is going to win. Right now, my money is on Tijl and John…just kidding, I don’t bet! (But if I did, that is who I think is going to win.) In 2 years time, though, I think we all know who will take home the title of the two victors: yours truly, Atticus and Finn.

*This was written before the senior assassin was finished, congratulations to Benson Sparrow and Yosi Achamyeleh.