My R600 Bic lighter OR Fleeced by a Kid OR the world's next Donald Trump

Extreme irritation and a grimace slowly became a smile and a high five in my head to the kid I bumped into at Northgate Mall yesterday. Given half the chance he could be one of the most successful business people this country's ever seen. Or the world.

I popped into a sweet shop to get a lighter. The lighter was R9.99. I gave the lady a R50 note. She gave me R40 back (hold on, now that I think about she fleeced me too). As I turned around there was this boy, almost 17 years old he was to tell me later. He asked if I had some money for him so he could buy some food for his mom at home. So I gave him the R40. He then suggested I take the R40 back and rather go with him to Checkers to buy a few small items.

I realise at this point I couldashoulda said no. But I didn't. I was in a position to help and so I did. So off we went. "Hang on, hang on!" he says. "Let's rather go to Pick 'n Pay. Pick 'n Pay has clothes. Maybe you can buy me a new pair of shoes or pants?" "Okay" I say, "I'm not promising clothes but let's go to Pick 'n Pay".

Walking past the various shops he chatted away, telling me his age, where he stays, how many brothers he has, where he goes to school, etc. And I chatted back. I think being poor is one thing. You find a way to make it through each day. Being ignored, being invisible, that, to me, kills you slowly, untill there's nothing left of you. So we talked. We bounced between English and Afrikaans. At times he spoke Afrikaans and I spoke English, or we both spoke Afrikaans (me badly) and English.

Before I knew it he was helping me push the trolley through the aisles, as he chose maize meal, oil, flour, cremora (? yes Cremora for his mom), washing powder, lots of chicken and some toiletries. At one point I asked him if he didn't want to get any canned foods. "No", says this teenpreneur, "I'll keep some money for shoes and pants". WTAF! He'll keep some money for shoes and pants? Who's money is he keeping for shoes and pants?

"I can't promise shoes and pants right now" I say. "I think we've got the important stuff here, ok?" A little look of disappointment but a "ja, ok" from him.

There we stood, in the queue, waiting to pay. If people looked at me strangely with my two black children, you should have seen the looks I was getting with my scruffy looking teenager. He helped me unpack the items from the trolley, threw in a HUGE slab of Aero (he did try two and I said no) and assisted the lady pack his purchase into bags and back into the trolley.

"So which way we gonna walk? If we go this way (pointing north easterly) there's a shoe shop, but that way (pointing straight ahead) there's Edgars, Ackermans and Mr Price."

As awful as I felt saying no, I had to. Monies are a little tight for me at the moment and I had just made a R600 purchase of groceries that weren't for me. If I did work according to a budget, I had just messed it up. Badly.

"Listen, next time I see you I'll buy you a new outfit, okay? But right now I just don't have the money. I'm really sorry!"

"No problem", says little Donald. "Give me your number and we can stay in touch!"

I wasn't falling for that one. Again, I did that once with a young girl on the side of the road and that's cost me over R2 000 to date...but that's a different story altogether.

Driving home, I looked at my R600 lighter. And smiled at just how big an ass I am. And probably always will be.