I don’t usually cheat. I mean, many of us are guilty of looking in the back of the maths book to see the answer before we’ve solved the problem. Well this wasn’t like that. It was straight out cheating, and I cheated from the work of another student, and for that I still feel a sense of quilt.

Let me explain.

It is March 1986, I’m in my final year of primary school, and all Grade 6 students interested in ‘trying out’ for the TV game show, Quiz Quest, are assembled in the Library. It’s lunch time, which led to the self exclusion of a bunch of kids who would prefer the sun to a room full of books. There are about 15 students scattered around the floor and on seats answering questions from the assistant principal, Mr Foon. We are being asked mostly general knowledge questions, some geography, and some current affairs. I feel I’m doing pretty well. I’ve had my heart set on winning a spot in the Quiz Quest team for several years. Now it is my chance to shine.

But I hit a hurdle. I get stumped at the spelling question (see related post). Mr Foon, asks the group, “‘Usually’. Spell the word ‘usually'”. I freeze. I can’t picture the word in my head. I look to the ceiling. I look to the floor. I close my eyes for inspiration. Nothing. There is not time limit on answering, Mr Foon is more interested in the depth of our knowledge. He thinks he can train us to get quicker at responding later. For now he wants to identify those who know their stuff.

Then, Kellie, laying in the sphinx position on the floor beside me, decides to sit up, and reveals her answer list. I spot the word ‘usually’ at the bottom, and bingo the word is in my mind.

But I’m stuck. I can’t unsee what I’ve seen. I now have an ethical dilemma. Do I use the information or not. I do. And the rest is history.

You see, I finished in the top three that day, by one point. Failure on the spelling of ‘usually’ would have put me out of the running.

Along with my mate Bryce, and a girl called Hallie,  I make up the team of three that goes to the Channel 9 studio in late May 1986 to film the show. Bryce and I are the team entrants, and Hallie sits the individual competition. We are all defeated and don’t get invited back for a second go.

All teams start on 50 points. And we ended on 54. I answered only one question. Hitting my buzzer first when asked, ‘How many Kings have been named Henry’. “Ate”, I say in my pre-pubescent voice. Correct.

Bryce nails the maths question regarding the change one receives from a $20 note if one were to purchase three records for $1.99 each. “Fourteen dollars and three cents”, Bryce offers confidently. Correct.

I’m out of my league when the host, Tim “camiserations” Lester (yes, that Tim Lester, the reporter that left little old Launceston and carved out a career with major national media outlets), asked how to spell, ‘prairie’. I’ve never forgotten how to spell ‘p-r-a-i-r-i-e’ after that day.

Overall it was great experience. I saw inside a real television studio, and I had some fun, although I was nervous with all the lights and cameras.

I still wonder if I stole one of my peer’s spots on the show. And I’m not proud of cheating.

Postscript.

Thinking back to that time I do remember learning another lesson on that day. You see we had to wear school uniform to the filming, and I was instructed by the school principal to replace my usual handmade school jumper with a ‘lost property’ pull over. My entire school career I wore jumpers knitted by my Nan. They were machine knitted and had the emblem embroided on, but, evidently, that wasn’t good enough for television. I felt small because of that. I felt like the jumpers that had been made with love by Nan were not good enough for broader public consumption. I didn’t say anything at the time, but I wore those jumpers proudly through to the end of Grade 10, and didn’t care if they were not the same as the mass produced ones. On this matter, I was proud and this was how I dressed.