At 6:30 a.m. most students are just getting ready for their day. However, on April 7 senior Owen Morris had already been awake since 5:30 a.m. Morris is staking out outside his target’s house, waiting to catch him before school.
“It was kind of cold that morning,” Morris said. “I went to my car, I got out, and I probably sat outside for 25 minutes. I stuck my phone around the corner and watched him walk around.”
When senior Isaiah Chanell finally left his house, Morris was ready to strike.
“I went downstairs, or down his stairs and sat in front of his car. Then I got him, and I felt so relieved because I had waited so long and I was cold,” Morris said.
Monday, March 23 marked the beginning of Senior Gotcha–a game in which seniors try to eliminate their assigned target by the end of each week using a watergun. If you don’t get your target before 11:59 p.m. Sunday, you are automatically out. There are some restrictions to make the game fair, like no eliminations at school, work, places of worship or school sporting events. As long as it’s not at South, parking lots are fair game.
A senior’s target is chosen at random, however some people have gotten very interesting
pairings, turning this into a game of betrayal and distrust for some.
“Well, I had my best friend, and that was really hard, but I was just like, it's a lot of money on the line,” senior Christy Aubrecht said.
Deceiving the target, no matter who they are, is just one part of the game.
“I tried to lie to her, tell her I didn't have her, but it worked for two minutes, and then she saw right through me,” Aubrecht said.
Another obstacle seniors had to face was their targets being guarded by family and friends.
“I went to her house. I accidentally shot her grandma, and she didn't get shot. I tried to get her like that entire week, but she wouldn't leave her house,” senior Ryder Heaven said.
Conspiring to get their targets out also provided new opportunities for seniors to connect with new people.
“It definitely connected us. I'm just salty about it, but it was definitely a good connecting event, and I think everyone really enjoyed it,” Heaven said.
Morris agrees with it connecting the class.
“I noticed three of the kids in my English class, including me, are all in Gotcha. We were all talking about it for 30 minutes yesterday. I realized I wouldn't have talked to those people if Gotcha wasn't a thing, which is really nice. It helps me build connections with my classmates,” Morris said.
After months of cut throat competition, borderline stalking, and constant scheming, two winners came out of this year's pool–Denah Thomas and Max McKenna.
“Well, the first couple rounds were honestly all just based on luck. I got very lucky in four foot races, and then things kind of got serious in the last couple rounds. I actually started trying and strategizing different setups to get certain people out,” McKenna said.
McKenna and Thomas decided to split the pot in the end.
“Well, I think it was the day before the round ended, Thursday night, and we were both just kind of tired of playing, so we agreed to split,” McKenna said.
