‘I got access to it when I turned eighteen and while it was never my reason for coming here, it is just sitting in my bank account. I can’t stop imagining how far it would go in a place like this.’

‘It’s not that simple.’

‘It is. It’s so simple. I have it. I don’t want it. The kids need it.’

‘The kids? We’ve only just met them. We don’t know the set-up there. How it’s funded by Kindred Kenya.’

‘I know there are fourteen kids in that house. That small, dirty house.’

‘How much is it? No, actually, don’t tell me.’

He shifts in his seat. ‘It’s enough to turn that whole orphanage around. But I don’t want to be like that person who donated the swing set no one can afford to fix. I could work it out, so that each year a little more money goes to them.’

‘I don’t know about this, Kiama. You need to think about your needs first.’

‘Why? I’m not starving. I’ve got a roof over my head.’

‘Yes, your family home. But you can’t live with your family forever. Why don’t you think about putting it towards a property?’

‘Property? No one of my generation has the money for that.’

‘You do.’

‘Yeah, for a deposit. But what happens month to month? I’ll never earn enough to make payments.’

‘Oh, don’t give me that whiney Gen Z crap. Just stop buying trainers and ketamine.’

He lets out a burst of laughter before putting his poker face back on.

‘Owning a property isn’t that out of reach for you.’

‘Yeah it is. Cause your lot bought them all up.’

‘My lot? Excuse me?’ She can’t believe that she’s part of the ‘lot’, the generation blamed for wrecking things for the one coming up after. ‘I worked hard for it. I had no leg-up. I’m one of four children. My parents struggled for years, so they always encouraged me to go and get my own properties.’

He laughs, ‘Plural, you know. How many properties do you own?’

‘Three.’

He gasps. ‘In London?’

‘No. One’s in Manchester. A student house.’

‘See, you’re the reason,’ he points his straw at her. ‘Greedy baby boomer.’

‘I’m not a boomer. How old do you think I am? Technically, I’m a millennial.’

‘A millennial? But you can’t even use Twitter.’

She takes a chip and he smiles like it’s a personal victory. ‘You’re making me stress eat.’

‘Two properties in London,’ he shakes his head at her. ‘You’re probably the richest person I know.’

‘And you’re probably the richest teenager I know.’

He stabs the straw in the milkshake, ‘Don’t tell me I can’t change things.’