Metro High School Student Pays Veteran's Grocery Bill After Losing Check

A local veteran found himself in an uncomfortable position after losing his money before checking out at a grocery store.

Hundreds of customers walk the aisles of the Crest location in Midwest City at Reno Avenue and south Douglas Boulevard every day.

Willie Rivers’ most recent experience is one he’s never had in the decades he’s shopped there.

“I had my grocery list that my wife and I made out, and she gave me a check” said Rivers.

But Rivers somehow lost the check while shopping.

Jada Hill, a clerk at the store and a student at Carl Albert High School, tried to help Rivers find it.

The two didn't have much luck.

“Finally, she (Jada) said ‘Mr. Rivers, don't worry. I'll help you pay for it,’” he said. “She said ‘About how much is the groceries, and I said about $140.'”

It took a minute for it all to sink in.

“He started crying, and he gave me a really big hug and kept telling me this was a lot of money,” said Hill. “I just gave it to him in his hands and said, 'You take it.'”

The two have since reunited.

The story is making rounds across the store, bringing some managers to tears.

“I am very emotional. My kids up here mean a lot to me, and they really do,” said Tonya Miller, a store manager. “I do what I can to help them, and as long as they take care of their customers, it will come back to them.”

Hill carries on at work like nothing ever happened. It's every day to her, an inspiration for others.

“I looked in his eyes, and he looked like he was going through it at the time. So I had it, and I said, 'I'll just give it to him,'” said Hill.

Hill said that after graduation, she'd like to attend Oklahoma Baptist University and join the Air Force. Her father also served in the Army.