“Puttin’ a study group together? You want in?”

Damon waits in a common-room. He’s slightly nervous.

Enter Clooney, looking ineffably smug.

Clooney: “Hey. Hear you did your time at UQ. Did you know Jimmy ‘The Constitution’ up there?”

Damon: “We knocked over a couple of subjects. Came away with a coupla firsts.”

Clooney: “Not bad work.”

Damon: “He calls me ‘trade and commerce’ these days.”

Clooney: “Huh. Well, I’ve got something on in Cambridge. We could use a good statutory and constitutional interpretation man.

Smirks.

“You know, in case things get messy.”

Damon: “Cambridge, huh? Nice town. I hear double-medal Andy’s running something up there these days.”

Clooney: “Yeah, he went native. Got his own turf. Piece of the local action. We don’t want any of that. Ours is a strictly in-out Masters job.”

Damon: “A Masters play? Always wanted to try one of those. What’s the score?”

Clooney: “Strictly October to the first weeks of June. Bit under nine months. Low contact hours, four three-hour papers, then we walk.”

Damon: “Eight months and four papers? In Cambridge?”

Clooney: “Eight and a half. We spend some time getting the lay of the place, go over the past exams, take in a few lectures. We just need to be well-planned, well-researched, very precise.”

Damon: “You need to be nuts, too. And you’d need a crew as nuts as you are!

Pauses.

“Who d’ya got in mind?”

Clooney: “You on interpretation. Me on comparative approaches and state practice. Old “Sanctions” Mack on the UN system. All we need is a history and theory guy. I hear Red-Head Lila can handle that. It’s a four-man play. Think about it. You’ll walk away with at least a middle second. Maybe more. We can swing this.”

Damon: “Cambridge, huh?”

Clooney: “The academic’s playground.”

Cue Elvis Presley track.