"You, um, I think you dropped this."

"Sorry?" JC said. He turned. One of the little kids, one of the new ones, was holding out a crumpled piece of notebook paper. "Oh, hey, you're right, that's mine." He took it from the kid's hand and squinted at it for a minute. Sometimes even he had a hard time reading his own handwriting.

"I didn't read it - if it was private or anything, I mean, I just saw it and your name was on it and I wouldn't have - anyway, you don't have to worry because I couldn't understand it."

JC laughed. The kid blushed ten shades of red and JC felt a little bad for laughing. "Hey, no, don't worry, I was just laughing because I can't read my own handwriting. I'm surprised you could make out my name. But thanks, anyway, for getting it to me."

"You're welcome," the kid said, and turned to go.

"Listen, this is really terrible of me but I'm really, truly awful with names, and I got introduced to a whole bunch of you at once and I don't really -"

"I'm Justin."

"Right, Justin, I remember now. I'm JC."

"I know," Justin said.

"Oh, sure, my name was on the paper."

"I knew anyway."

"Oh," JC said. "Well, thanks, Justin."

"I write songs, too," Justin said. He flushed again but he didn't stop talking. "I mean, maybe they're not that good yet but they will be, if I keep trying, people say and I will. Keep trying, I mean."

"That's good," JC said. "Wait. I thought you said you didn't read it. How did you know it was a song?"

"I thought - I just thought you seemed like one - I mean, somebody who would write songs. I don't know, I just thought it was."

"You were right," JC said, and Justin smiled at him. JC peered down at the sheet of paper again. "But I'm afraid it's not a good one."

"You should keep trying, too," Justin said.

JC laughed. "I'll do that. Anyway, thanks for finding this for me. I appreciate it."

"You're welcome," Justin said again. He smiled and turned again to go.

JC watched him leave, then folded his song carefully in half and put it in his pocket.