Drip. Fear. Drip. Betrayal. Drip. The promise of over a thousand dollars and a lifetime of glory. With muscles tense and leaking weapons in hand, seniors crouch behind cars, blend into crowds, and stalk their targets from afar with this promise in mind. This is Senior Assassin, a time when nowhere is safe and no one can be trusted.
Every year Piedmont’s senior class is invited to join the game, and those who accept are tasked with “assassinating” their target with a water gun while not getting eliminated themselves. The last player standing is promised a reward gathered from the ten-dollar entrance fee each player must initially pay, and each kill is posted on each year’s PHS Senior Assassin Instagram account.
“I think the time limit and the fact that the kills are posted on Instagram gives people the incentive to really go all out with their kills and make it entertaining,” senior Alex Leibscher said.
Players are given one week to shoot their target, and if they fail to do so, they’re eliminated automatically. Leibscher was working at his desk in his bedroom on a Friday evening when he heard footsteps in the hallway. His assassin, senior Henley Lorin, had let herself in through his back door.
“When I heard them I realized I’d left the door open, so I tried to grab my water gun for defense, but it was too late,” Leibscher said.
According to the Senior Assassin Instagram page, if a player shoots their assassin, they are granted one hour of immunity. Leibscher was unable to do this in time, so the class of 2024 watched on Instagram as his assassin sprayed him through his open door, eliminating him.
“[Leibscher]’s kill was pretty interesting. I think mine was pretty straightforward by comparison,” senior John Olsen said.
Olsen hid from view in the reclined seat of his car outside his target’s house, where he patiently waited for them to come out before eliminating them with three well-placed shots.
“Miranda Long had a pretty good kill. In her video on Instagram it looked like it was in an airport,” Olsen said.
After receiving a tip that her target, senior Charlotte Davies, would be landing at the Oakland International Airport, senior Miranda Long put her plan in motion. Equipped with her videographer and getaway driver, she set off for the airport an hour before Davies was set to land.
“I was disguised with a suitcase and glasses so I could blend in with the airport a bit better. I ran after [Davies] through the baggage claim and out of the airport and I got her,” Long said.
Long said that some eliminations in particular are talked about by seniors all throughout the school after being posted on the Senior Assassin Instagram.
“I think one of the funniest and best-executed kills I’ve seen so far was Miles Antaya’s,” Olsen said.
Senior Miles Antaya had struggled to eliminate his target, senior Cecilia DeFazio, for several days, with failed attempts ranging from camping outside of her house to wearing a wig as a disguise.
“On the last day I had left to get my kill, I went to [DeFazio]’s house to apologize for bothering her with my failed attempts. They let me in, which was a big mistake,” Antaya said.
Halfway through apologizing to DeFazio and her mother, Antaya reminded them it was April Fools Day, took out his concealed water gun, and finished the job.
“I didn’t realize the deadline to eliminate your target had been extended by a day, so when [Antaya] came to apologize I believed it,” DeFazio said.
With changes like the first deadline being extended by an extra day or defense kills from a moving vehicle being banned, senior Peter Stokes thinks the rules were unclear in some scenarios, but doesn’t want to get in the way of the fun of the game.
“I shot my assassin in defense from a car, but the rules were later updated to ban self-defense kills from a moving vehicle, so I ended up getting eliminated. I’m not upset about it, I just found the rules a bit confusing,” Stokes said.
Senior Molly Wagener thinks the rules received some much-needed updates.
“There were some issues with clarity about the rules, but I think they’ve been addressed well and now everything’s resolved,” Wagener said.
Senior Jamie Schwarz said her favorite part about Senior Assassin is the grade-wide community created by the shared fun.
“A lot of people who usually wouldn’t talk to each other end up talking about assassin. All of my classes are talking about it, and I like that everyone’s a part of this big game that kind of builds the community,” Schwarz said.
