My doorbell rings; I turn the handle to come face to face with my assassin. Eyes find eyes, and my body activates the same way it would had I been facing a real gun. I look down, and I’m shot. 

Mclean’s Senior Assassin is a fun way for each year’s senior class to end their four years of high school. In the midst of college commitments, finals, and AP testing season, this tradition helps seniors deal with burnout and regain some excitement towards the end of the school year. 

“My most fun kill was faking a door dash order at Jasmine Andresol’s house. I wore a mask and hat to cover my face, but had the DoorDash in my hand to make it look convincing. I was worried about her seeing my friends in the car, which she did, and she got suspicious. I tried playing it off and right when I was reaching for ‘the food’, I pulled out my water gun and attempted to shoot her. I think I missed the first time, but I kept telling her that I got her and just shot her a second time when she opened the door.”

Senior Calvin Thinley – Super hat trick champ

“I’ve had one standoff, two kills, and a chase through the woods, but I’m still standing,” senior Sophia Lebowitz said. “I started off thinking I wouldn’t tell anyone about my target, but I’ve been conferring with so many people. It’s a fun distraction.” 

The game’s had a way of bringing the most unlikely people together. With the large class size, seniors often feel out of touch with those outside their circle of friends, but Senior Assassin has been a great way to force people out of this state of coexistence. 

“It’s really nice because it’s people I wouldn’t normally talk to that are messaging, and I’m honestly becoming friends with some,” said senior Kristin Sargent, manager of this year’s @mclean_senior_assassin.23 Instagram account. “I got a lot of positive feedback, especially when I posted new rules. People also like my captions, I’ve heard parents are getting a good laugh out of it, too.”

It hasn’t necessarily been smooth sailing for Sargent, however. There was a change in rules this year to account for everyone’s questions. Examples ranged from ‘what’s the difference between the car’s engine being on or the electricity being on’ to decipher if a kill was really valid to ‘when does venturing into an apartment building become trespassing’. 

“I’ve had a few issues with the administration because they have strict requests that we’re trying to follow and change rules to,” Sargent said. “I have to come up with sub plans of what my rules are going to be, trying to find a balance between administration and what the students want.”

“I actually was not allowed to play at senior assassin because I signed up too late. Franny unshared her location with me and I really had no contact with her, because she overheard me talking with Saehee about getting her. A couple of days passed and she started to trust me again. So she re-shared her location with me and planned to hang out on Sunday. So Saehee made a group chat with me and a couple of my other friends to try to get Franny and I said, ‘Oh, why don’t you just come over on Sunday?’ [Franny] was gonna be at my house unsuspecting without a floatie on. So on Sunday [Franny and I] were sitting in my kitchen, and I heard knock at the door. I asked, ‘Oh, who could that be? Franny come with me.’ So we walked to the door. I have a glass door so she could Saehee with her water gun. Franny looks at her arm and she realizes she doesn’t have a floatie on, so she starts screaming and cussing me out. My dad was actually in a business meeting right there across from us, and so Franny ran into my kitchen and I let Saehee in. Then she started shooting like wildly in my house. Franny was so mad at me, but it was really funny.”

Senior Issy Dipatri – Accomplice to senior Saehee Perez (target: Franny Hemsley)

Additionally, many students were unhappy that they did not get the opportunity to participate in the game. So many people wanted to participate, they had to close down the sign up form early. However, as round 1 comes to a close, those who were killed, did not kill their target in the one-week time frame, or did not previously have the chance to join do have an opportunity to sign up. 10 random people who signed up for round 2 can “buy in” to the game. All of this will eventually lead to a podium of 6 winners: 1st-3rd place for most kills or last one standing, each getting a percentage of about $900. 

“I want to come in first for not only kills, but in surviving to win 50% of the pot,” senior Calvin Thinley said, in lead for most kills and still in game. 

“When I found out that I had Justin Daly, I knew that he had recently committed to JMU. So I had a little conversation with him and he said he was going to the CHOICES Event on the 14th of April. So I was like, oh my gosh, I’m going on the 14th of April. So I made this plan and I accidentally told people in a group chat and then someone told someone my plan, so he ended up knowing and lying to me about it. He was like, ‘Yeah, I’m not gonna go any more. I’m going to be in Charlottesville instead.’ So then I started talking to someone else, who sits next to him in math, and they were telling me he was lying to me because he knew that I was his assassin. And I was like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna get him.’ So on Friday, I went to the Health Sciences pre-med session, and I sat down next to him and I shot him.”

Senior Brooke Thomas- Four kill cadet (eliminated)

With the ambition comes a slightly stressful part of the fun: the mental aspect. The paralyzing fear of your assassin being around every corner has become a real worry for students. With assassins camping outside targets’ cars and houses, waiting for the perfect moment to strike, targets have to stay vigilant at all times. 

“I was paranoid the entire time,” senior Elayna Weber said. “The first thing I did in the morning was look out my front window to see if there was a car in the driveway. I always had my little sister run out the door first to see if she would get shot.”

However, the paranoia and anxiety either makes or breaks you. In other circumstances, it’s helped friends bond.

“I have to give a huge shoutout to Mark Dimatulac and Jimmy Higgins because Mark has driven me for ¾ of my kills and Jimmy has been there along for the ride,” Thinley said. “[But] your closest friends could be trying to get you, like how I got Chris Morabito. I remember talking to him a couple months ago saying if I wanted to get him out I would just wait outside his house before school. That’s exactly what I did to get my first kill.”

Overall, Senior Assassin seems to be a fun experience for all of those involved. It keeps up senior morale and creates a connection across the grade before graduation. 

“It was a ball, just waiting for who my target was gonna be, and watching them but in a way that I could get to know them better,” Weber said. “It brings the class together and I really like that.”

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