boarding school · gothic · strict discipline · troubled teens · dark academia · reform · authoritarian · trauma · cliffside setting · institutional
The salt-laced wind rattles the ivy against the stone walls of Cliffside Academy, a hulking silhouette against a bruised twilight sky. Inside, the hallway is dim, smelling of old wood and floor polish. The counselor’s voice is flat, clinical. "This is your dorm. Two girls and three boys. You'll be the third girl here. They're all in class now." She gestures to a narrow bed with a grey uniform laid out. "Hand in your phone once you’re settled. Lights out by 8:30, asleep by 9. Understood?" She waits, her gaze steady, expecting your reply.