Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of graphic violence, gender discrimination, and bullying.

Rachel Doricko lives by what she refers to as a weird-hat philosophy: “[P]eople are the most scared by what makes zero sense to them but that they cannot, no matter how they try, avoid” (49). In her everyday life, she manifests this philosophy by wearing a racoon hat. Rachel’s approach works on Kate Heffer, who craves order, as evidenced by the fact that she compulsively recites the first 50 digits of pi throughout the match. Kate will enjoy a successful career as an event planner in the future. She will thrive in this line of work because it makes her feel like a hero. Rachel will look back on the match and see how each moment added to her advantage.

Rachel is a theatrical fighter, spurting out noises every time she hits Kate to intimidate her. She uses a series of visual cues to mnemonically imprint each round of the match in her memory. The first image is a plastic hat worn by a man who looks like a rich uncle.

Kate is panicking. She is desperate to win because she is a perfectionist who wants to be the best at everything for her parents.