KEY POINTS:
Until this time last week, former Miss Universe Lorraine Downs was Pakuranga College's most famous pupil. But in the past seven days, she has had to make way for 17-year-olds Anna Devathasan and Jenny Suo, the girls whose science experiment put GlaxoSmithKline in court. The girls took a few moments from their busy schedule - doing a telephone interview with a German magazine, and preparing for the school production of The Frogs, by Aristophanes - to speak to the Weekend Herald.
What is the biggest lesson you have learned from all this?
Jenny: "Media is crazy and hectic and so demanding. They are just interested in getting a story. People are starting to twist our words a little bit."
Anna: "The chance to be interviewed by the world is great."
How do your families feel about your brush with fame?
Anna: "Dad is always online, seeing where I am. Everyone is making sure we eat and sleep."
Jenny: "They are quite proud of us. They have been really supportive."
Have you been doing any more experiments?
Jenny: "Just recreating the same one - over and over again."
Anna: "Everyone is asking, 'What are you going to do next?', and we say, 'we did this experiment three years ago' ..."
"I think they are expecting more experiments."
What was the highlight of the week?
Jenny: "My favourite bit of the whole thing was when we walked out of court on Tuesday and they [media] just thronged."
Anna: "Tuesday was about a month long. All the mikes were just insane. Getting on to [online encyclopedia] Wikipedia was huge for me."
You are both involved in the school production, The Frogs. It's an ancient Greek comedy, but do any of its themes mirror your battle with Glaxo?
Jenny: "Its been modernised. It's a battle between Elvis and John Lennon as to whose music is better."
Anna: "It's a comedy. I suppose it has got the same kind of light thing to it as we do. We never set out to do anything, we just stumbled upon it."
So drama is your new favourite subject?
Jenny: "Drama is a lot of our lives."
Anna: "Without drama in our day, we can't survive."
This is your last year at Pakuranga College. What are your plans for next year?
Jenny: "It depends what scholarships we get."
Anna: "Auckland University."
