Part 2: “Hypothesis” is the shortest section of the novel; only one chapter, it outlines Suzy’s educated guess: Franny died because she suffered an Irukandji sting. If Suzy is right, then Franny’s death was caused by “a villain worse than [Suzy]” (43). Suzy is alluding to the way in which their friendship ended and to the failed message Suzy tried to send Franny to revive their friendship. In order to formulate her formal hypothesis, Suzy first relates facts and statistics about jellyfish, their stings, and Franny, showing that Suzy has the capacity to think logically.

Suzy blames herself in part for Franny’s death, as evidenced by her search for a villain who is responsible for Franny’s drowning.