As the end of fourth quarter for Harriton’s senior class comes closer, many underclassmen have been speculating about the existence and quality of the traditional ‘senior prank.’ According to one anonymous junior, “we’re all worried that we won’t be treated to the creativity of a well-thought out joke by the entire senior class! As juniors, we love working hard, so we want a prank that we’ll have to strive to live up to. I’m very concerned that we might not have to put in too much effort.” Luckily, this is not to be so. The senior prank is supposed to be kept secret until its enactment, but one forgetful member of the Class of 2013 accidentally confessed her plans for the prank via Facebook to a Banter reporter. (We don’t believe in confidentiality here at the Banter, due to our loud mouths and fear of tedium.)

The plan: senior students will actually begin to study for their finals. “It’s flawless,” said a class representative. “Nobody would ever expect this. I don’t think a senior class has collectively studied for their finals anywhere in the continental United States and its territories, let alone at Harriton! Imagine the rest of the school’s shock when we actually pass our final exams without begging for a curve. Hilarious!” With the exception of senior Max Norris, who recently won the 2013 World’s Best Runner title, (or something like that, judging by the constant flow of announcements) it is estimated that only two seniors in the Class of 2013 have picked up a textbook in their second semester, one of whom did so for the sake of flattening a collage she made while neglecting her homework.

The expected reaction is to be huge, says the class representative, throwing teachers into a state of confusion that will probably resonate throughout the school. “They would never expect high scores on anything in the second half of the year. Even cheating seems out of the question, since that would require at least one person to have looked over and understood the material in some capacity. But this way, we’ll have everyone doing well. Imagine how funny it’ll be to see A’s and B’s in the final exam column of our report cards! Even our parents will be shocked.” Sources say that representatives from Pennsylvania State University, where 90% of the senior class is matriculating in the fall, have been laughing for days at the idea of all seniors actually putting effort into their studies in the last few exams of their high school career.

All seniors are expected to participate in the plan. In fact, we seniors here at the Banter are joining in on the gag – we’re even taking the time to care enough to write an article. The Class of 2013 is projected to see high grades and to create an even higher standard of comedy for the Class of 2014 to live up to in next year’s prank.