This sets up the story so very well. The boarding school, the seeming normality. Opening with one character and changing to another works to give different perspectives on the place, the fresh eyes vs someone who has learnt the ways of the place a little. The recounting of why mickey is there creates the most believable feign, I really didn't see the end coming at all, although you dropped little titbits there is more going on, like the white room. The mixed emotions he goes through returning home on a halloween pass are so well portrayed, and the descriptions on the bus picks up this shared sense of trepidation. I hadn't really wondered at why those attending a school for bad behaviour may get a halloween pass, of all holidays, but it all comes together so perfectly for the clever ending. Very well written and unravelled.

I only say this because your writing is so good, and the story here is excellent but this could benefit from more paragraphs with line breaks in between them to space the story out a bit more. The rules do also say one image only, i'm not going to disqualify the entry, because it is just too good for that, and you don't use the images to tell the story, and do paint your pictures with words, but this didn't need the additional images, although it did serve to break segments up quite well, you tell a better image than they create and in a way, they distract from that. A very well told story, well thought out, and very well tied up!

The winners of round 11 have been announced and round 12 is out - not horror specifically this time so very much hope you'll be back for the next one <3