By Flynn Geraghty, Associate Editor-In-Chief
“Kill and don’t be killed.”
While it may sound like a tagline for some dystopian teen book series, it is actually how senior Alec Heyde would describe this year’s game of Senior Assassin.
The class of 2016 is ending its year with a splash and 220 students entered into a competition that pitted the students against each other until one was left standing.
The premise of Senior Assassin is that each student who entered gets the name of one of their peers. This is their target. Their goal is to somehow hit that student with water, the most popular method being with a water gun. However, as that student hunts down their target, someone else is also on the lookout for them. Besides certain places being off limits, like school grounds or workplaces, this event is also not organized by Prospect High School.
While some of the competitors don’t spend much time on this, Heyde is in it to win it. He spent his Tuesday morning camping out outside of his target’s house at around 6:30 in the morning, waiting for the perfect time to strike.
“I always feel like I have a competitive spirit, so I thought this is something really cool to do,” Heyde said.
Senior Griffin Snead also has his head in the game when it comes to this competition. He has color-coded spreadsheets that record exactly who has been shot, who didn’t hit their target and who he still has to watch out for.
“I think it’s a great competition, and it’s really interesting to see who’s got who and all the different matchups,” Snead said.
Despite the only prize being “honor and glory,” many are fighting hard to be crowned the winner.
“For the people that are really trying, it gets really intense,” Snead said. “There’s hour-long stakeouts and people waiting and turning against each other, forming alliances. It’s pretty intense. But yeah, I’m in it to win it. The top competitors are really going hard at it, so [to] be crowned champion is a really exciting goal.”
While Heyde also has his eyes set on the prize, he is also grateful the games are able to fill up his now free afternoons.
“I was the kid that as soon as I got home from track or cross country practice, I would go right to doing homework,” Heyde said. “It was just a part of my routine. But now, it’s like I go home and I don’t have anything to do. For me, it gives me something school-oriented to do, while not putting me completely into summer mode. It keeps you affiliated with the school, but not affiliated with the work.”
Both Heyde and Snead believe that Senior Assassin is a fitting end to their time here at Prospect.
“It’s a good signal that the year is ending,” Snead said. “It goes along with the senior barbeque and the class trips. It helps you wind down from the year and [it’s a nice] end to your high school career.”