Teen Caught In Act Covering Grandma’s Grocery Bill

Regrets

Once she did it, regret filled her body. She could not help but doubt herself. She had to think it through because it will cause her nothing but problems. When she heard that the manager called her into the office, she began sweating.

She slowly began walking to the office with her heart pounding in her chest. Why did she believe that she could pull it off? She knew she dug her own grave, and now she had to lie in it.

Youthful Indiscretion

Maria Balboa was only 19-years-old. She hailed from Texas and was a student at the A&M University. To make some extra money, she also worked as a bagger at the local H-E-B Store.

Like most young people, Maria was heavily influenced by social media culture. However, her penchant for enjoying viral stories led her to post about something that happened at work. It did go viral but now she was afraid that all the attention was going to land her in trouble.

Life Wasn’t Easy

Maria had faced many struggles growing up. Her parents weren’t around and she had been raised by her maternal grandmother. Money was always tight but she was never short of love and attention from her grandma who also tried to raise her with good values.

Maria lacked the kind of study and career opportunities that many of her middle-class friends enjoyed. She was forced to find her own ways of making extra pocket money and the means she used weren’t what one might call typical.

Valuable Lessons

Her life had been an up and down road at times but she was always grateful for her grandma who kept her grounded. The relationship the pair shared was great and Maria never wanted to ever let her down.

The old lady had taught her many wise lessons over the year and had become her moral compass in life. When the incident happened, one of grandma’s old lessons immediately sprung to mind.

Life As A Student

Maria had to work harder than most to secure herself a college education. While she managed to secure partial funding, she still needed some extra money for other expenses that weren’t covered.

She was barely a month into her job at the H-E-B and when she started, she had no idea that she would go viral there. Now it was too late and she worried about the consequences.

The Old Woman

On the day in question, Maria couldn’t help noticing an elderly Hispanic woman when she appeared at the store with two young kids in tow. For some reason, Maria felt instantly drawn to her and watched her shopping from afar.

The little old lady and the kids moved around from shelf to shelf and Maria kept an eye on them. Maria did not know it at the time but it was an unusual twist of fate that brought them together.

Cashing Up

Eventually, the lady and the kids made their way to the tills to pay. Maria noticed that her shopping cart was full of groceries. Maria silently watched from the end of the till as the cashier rang up all the items.

Things seemed to be going normally. However, when all the groceries were scanned and the cashier told the old lady the total, that was when things took a turn.

It Made Her Sad

The total came to $137 even. When the old lady opened her purse, Maria noticed that she had a SNAP card which was a government assistance card. This obviously meant that she wasn’t financially independent and likely struggling.

As the old woman tried to pay for her groceries, something was wrong. Maria immediately felt for her and the scene that was being caused.

She Was Short

From what Maria overheard from the cashier, the old lady only had $19 left on her SNAP card.  This broke Maria’s heart as it meant she would only be able to leave the store with a handful of the groceries that she actually did pick out.

Sounding disheartened, the old lady asked the cashier to start removing most of the items and said that she would just keep a few things for that night’s dinner. Maria knew she had to do something and stepped in.

It Was Instinctive

Maria would later explain to news outlets that she felt almost compelled to help the old lady. She felt so connected to her for some reason that she could not allow her to leave the store in that manner.

This wasn’t the strangest part. When Maria later elaborated, she mentioned that it almost felt like “God” was telling her to do this. However, Maria had no idea just how much this favor would end up impacting her.

The Lady’s Story

And that’s what she did. The old lady was moved by Maria’s gesture, and she thanked her with tears in her eyes.

She also told Maria about her story and why she couldn’t pay for the groceries from her own pocket. And as Maria learned, she and the lady had more in common than what may have seemed at first sight.

She Was Grateful

“She explained that she had taken in her two grandkids when they were left by their mother,” Maria told the media later on.

“This was why money had been tight for her, and she had to take a lower-paying job so they wouldn’t go into the foster care system. She thanked me for my kindness that day because it really helped her out.”

But Something Was Wrong

Maria was glad to have done a good deed for the day. She got ready to resume her work, but right then, she noticed something.

Two of her managers had been watching the whole scene from a distance, and she heard one of them murmuring, “Did she really do that?” It seemed like her problems had just started.

Boss Calling

Shortly after the lady and her two grandkids walked out the door, the boss called Maria into her office. He wanted to talk to her about something.

What could be the problem? Had she made a mistake by paying for the lady’s groceries? Maria’s heart and mind were racing as she walked towards the office, wondering if she was in trouble.

Reward

But when she got there, her boss was smiling. He had heard what she had done for the lady through the managers. He thought of it as a kind gesture that made her appreciate Maria as an employee even more.

So much so that he reimbursed her the $137 and also gave her a gift basket to show his appreciation. But in a different state, a similar occurrence would leave a restaurant flocked by police.

A Restaurant

This particular event occurred in a Chinese-themed restaurant in Los Angeles, where Harry, a twenty-three-year-old, would get in trouble for doing something similar to what Maria did.

But in Harry’s case, his managers would take a more drastic measure than simply reimbursing him. He’d live to remember that day for the rest of his life.