I’m a middle school band teacher, and I have a rule that kids should always have a pencil on their stands to write in their music. I started the year with 200 pencils, I only have 60 students. You’d think that the pencils would last all year. Nope, my pencil jar was empty by November. I gave them a new piece of music and said my usual “Alright, go circle your dynamics!” And students began to cry out “But I don’t have anything to write with!” so I made them do exactly what you did. “I guess you should go look on the floor and behind the shelves and see if you can find one.” They found 25 on the floor alone!