Chapter 284

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*- John*

This is the 284th episode of *unORDINARY*.

## Synopsis

Remi navigates the school halls. The sting of Arlo shutting down her lead on EMBER the day before still hasn't faded. Sure, she didn't have proof, but there is no excuse for siding with the Authorities again. It was the most grievous insult to the memory of Rei. As she approaches the corner, she collides with somebody approaching from the opposite direction. It turns out to be Arlo himself. Though not pleased to see him this soon, Remi decides to apologize for making Valerie out to be a criminal. Arlo accepts her apology, and commends her for giving up on her silly notions. He does not notice that she wasn't being sincere, nor that she's clearly ticked about his low opinion of her faculties. Remi excuses herself to head to Safe House. Arlo asks her if she'll ever come around to abandoning her dangerous vendetta against EMBER. Remi tells him that she'll worry about her own life so that he doesn't have to.

In Room 224, Remi's frustration with Arlo prevents her from focusing on anything else she might accomplish. Then a conversation starts up amongst other members regarding Seraphina and John being Safe House no-shows even after returning to school. Remi lets them know that they were busy setting up the room for self-defense lessons. Now excited, the others decide to check it out.

Preparations for the training room have fallen well-behind schedule. John complains that it's going to take forever, which Seraphina notes is a far cry from his earlier insistence that getting ready would be a snap. The two of them are startled by an incredibly chipper greeting. It came from Evie, who has arrived with Roland and Dylan. They offer to help, to Seraphina's gratitude. The mats have been taken care of, but there are bins and boxes to deal with. The three get right on it, which John appreciates. Working together, the group makes plenty of progress. They stop at a certain point, but Dylan asks John to demonstrate some fighting pointers before they call it a day. Astonished at his energy, John agrees to a minor showcase.

First, he asks Dylan to punch the punching bag in order to gauge his current prowess. Dylan ends up proving that he should not have survived for as long as he did. John instructs him to never leave his thumb in his fist, and to put some oomph into punching the bag. He recommends picturing the bag as somebody in his life that is aggravating, and prepares to demonstrate it himself. John chooses to pretend that he's facing the water guy who nearly killed him and Seraphina. The memories of being powerless to fight back brings out an innate fury within John. Most of the onlookers are freaked out at the display, but Seraphina's main concern is his mindset. It's only when the punching bag gets knocked over that John stops himself. Sheepishly, he tells Dylan to take another turn punching the bag, but with less gusto than he witnessed. As John supervises, he thinks to himself how he'll demolish that killer the next time they cross paths.

## Appearing Characters

* Remi
* Arlo
* Roland
* Dylan
* Evie
* John
* Seraphina
* *Spectre Assassin* (flashback)