Chapter 226

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*- William to John*

This is the 226th chapter of *unORDINARY.*

## Summary

At home, John lies in bed. *He once more recalls the living nightmare Keon and the readjustment facility. Keon forces John to relive the time that Claire "betrayed" him. Again he sees Claire bitterly looking him in the eye and calling him monster.* John wakes up with a jolt and breathes heavily. Unable to get back to sleep, he takes a seat on his bedside and reflects on the conclusion of his last big fight. *He called himself a liar, a phony and a fake, only for Seraphina to refute this denouncement with certainty. She really wanted to listen to him, but he let his fear of being called a monster by her drive him into shutting her out. But while he gave up on her, she never gave up on him*. John doesn't want her faith in him to be misplaced, but he is unsure of what to do with himself.

After day breaks, John heads to the dining room when his father calls him over for breakfast. William notices that his son looks exhausted, and asks if he slept well. John replies that he had a lot on his mind. William suggests that John returns to bed after some nourishment. They sit down to a meal of bacon, eggs, and toast. William mentions how Headmaster Vaughn gave advance notice that John was being sent home due to disobedience and excessive violence, and requests elaboration. John quickly goes into a self-deprecating tirade. He claims that all was lost from the moment he activated his ability again. But he couldn't help his anger at his situation, and he just lashed out in all directions. Hearing John curse his own power made the worried William wonder if John intends to continue suppressing it. William brings up the time John's ability first awakened. *He tried to show William his power, but couldn't get his eyes to glow. John then dedicated himself to daily ability training. William saw how proud John was of his ability mastery, and the feeling was mutual.* The stark contrast between John's attitude then and now leaves William confused. John exclaims that his ability proficiency is meaningless without the proper guidance necessary to keep from losing control. His remarks all late bloomers are doomed to fail catches leaves William suprised. He asks if that is something he was taught during his readjustment classes. *Another flashback of Keon and his terrible ability pops up in John's mind.* But he denies his father's insinuation, saying that the proof of those words can be found in his track record. He tells his son that he is not a failure, and won't be if he just takes responsibility. John can't accept this, knowing full well of the second chances he kept squandering. He leaves his breakfast and walks off. William is sad he couldn't give his son proper guidance due to his status.

John goes outside and passes by several familiar locations. First was the practice spot in front of his childhood home. *It was here where John hurt Adrion after figuring out how to enhance the abilities he copied. John took immense satisfaction in the act at the time.* He then walks by his old school. *The time he viciously attacked a student for stating he didn't want John as a king still brings him shame.* John pulls his hood up and continues on his way.

John reaches U-Mart, where he gets chips and a beverage. The cashier asks John if he found everything he needed. After getting confirmation, the cashier asks if John has U-Mart membership. John begins to say no when he looks up and realizes that cashier is Adrion. Adrion recognizes John as well and nervously asks if he would like to sign up for a membership.