Chella Courington’s creative writing class held an open reading on Dec. 2 on East Campus for students to read their fiction pieces to an audience.

Jon Vreeland, president of the creative writing club, called up volunteers to stand in front of the audience and read excerpts from their writings.

Lilia Hine read a story called “The Missing Piece” that was about her mother telling her a story about her nana.

“This is a story I was told when I was 4-years-old,” said Hine. “My mother told me circumstances like these open paths we never knew existed.”

She talked about how after her grandma died, her mom and her siblings were divided and her dad was out of the picture. Hine’s story describes how her mother finds the missing piece in her life and quotes her mother saying, “It is possible I exist because she died.”

Over two-dozen people attended the fiction reading and a total of 15 students read their pieces. Readings included flash fiction, religious pieces, and some humorous ones.

Some student wrote stories that were deeper and based on true events in their lives.

Vreeland read a darker piece that was featured in the magazine “Rebel Society.” His writing was about a man named Greg that attends his friend’s funeral who died of a drug overdose.

He shows how addictions to Xanax and heroin can cause tragedies for people who are addicted. Vreeland’s story caused a very serious reaction from the audience because of the realistic and unfortunate events that occurred.

“His story was really intense and got my attention,” said City College student Tyler Valencia. “It made me feel like I was actually there and it’s scary how drugs can easily end someone’s life.”

Some of the students incorporated humor in their readings to get the audience laughing. One girl read a short story called “SLAM” that took place on a hot summer day about a girl whose siblings were constantly slamming doors, and her use of humor throughout the reading made her story very enjoyable.

The reading was a great opportunity for writers to share their fiction pieces with a small audience and get real reactions.

All of the students who read were confident and had unique stories that kept the audience engaged.

The creative writing club encourages all students with a passion for writing to join in order to develop more skills and get feedback from their peers.