Paranoia fills the seniors as the end of the year draws in — not from waiting on acceptance letters or passing their last couple of classes before graduation, but instead the start to one of the most intense traditions: Assassins.

“I kind of took initiative,” gamemaker senior Ryan Schaper said. “I said in the senior group chat, ‘Are we doing Assassins?’ and then no one said anything, so I said, ‘Alright, I’ll start it.’”

Being a game maker for Assassins is a difficult task to take on going into any year, so with COVID requiring extra examination, the job has been no walk in the park.

“We said masks are strongly recommended, and you have to be six feet apart,” Schaper said.

With all the challenges this year has brought, it’s a good thing Schaper hasn’t been alone on the gamemaker team.

“Zoe [Best] and Jonah [Kahn] texted me and said, ‘Let’s all do this together,’” he said. “I said, ‘That’s fine’ — because three people are way better than one.”

While some have decided to rebel against the rules, senior Parker Hill appreciates the gamemakers enforcing them so the class can experience this tradition.

“Contrary to popular opinion, I don’t mind how they’re running it,” Hill said. “I think it was nice of them to even have Assassins this year.”

Assassins inspired the students to not give up on its success, even if they aren’t one of the last ones standing.

“Everybody loved assassins last year, so I figured it would be fun even if I didn’t win it,” Hill said. “I hope one of my close friends win. That would make me feel better about getting shot.”

Having something so personable to the seniors after losing a normal year has made the event all around more special.

Keeping her eye on the prize — which is $$$ —, senior Sarah Platt is grateful to participate in the water-gun tradition.

“It’s only for seniors, so you only get one chance to play [and] gets you out of your comfort zone,” she said. “It’s fun to see who you can trust and how long you can stay in.”

Even while making fond memories, students can’t help but feel constantly nervous in fear of their assassin hunting them down when outside of school hours.

“I feel paranoid when leaving work or needing to go to the store,” Platt said. “It’s not too bad since luckily I have a garage spot.”

When the connected aspect of a senior year was taken away from the class of 2021, these small but lively traditions mean that much more.

“It’s been really nice to see people interact and go meet people that they’ve never known before,” Schaper said. “I’m happy I made other people happy.”