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as well. Trevor looks at me and lifts his brows as if to say, “See, it’s so easy, even he can bowl a strike.”I stick my tongue out at him.
    I bowl pretty good, wanting to show off a little, though I only manage one strike. Of course Trevor bowls far better, perfect in this as in everything else. He comes up with me most turns to give me pointers, always standing in close contact. The cheerleader tries to get him to do the same with her, but it’s blatantly obvious what she’s doing, to me at least.
    Finally Jeff, the fosters’ oldest biological, whispers something in her ear, which makes her give a true pout, and she stops trying to get to Trevor after that, proceeding to bowl almost as well as Trevor does.
    Trevor doesn’t notice her game.
    By the end of the third game, my fosters and Trevor’s parents are fast friends, and Todd is giving regular hugs to us all, his “new friends.” This is a bad development. I can’t exactly influence Trevor to the dark side if the families are going to exchange numbers and socialize.
    Actually I can , I correct myself. It’s just going to be more difficult, take a little longer. That doesn’t exactly bum me. The fact that it doesn’t bum me, bums me.
    ⊕⊗⊕
    Saturday Trevor picks me up to go to his family party. My appearance definitely causes a stir. This horrifies Mrs. Brady/Cleaver but amuses Trevor’s dad, oddly enough—and seems to have no effect on Trevor. He acts as if he shows up with a freak at every family function.
    The funny thing is, because he acts that way, by the end of the night, most of them seem comfortable enough around me and treat me as if I weren’t completely different from this upright clan. There are a few who try to keep me in my place as the visiting freak show, but overall, I find myself having an okay time.
    “I don’t see him turning,” my friends say at school on Monday after they’ve reamed me about missing another party.
    “It’s a process,” I explain. I tell them about bowling and about the dork-family party, turning their anger into amusement. I feel a little guilty at amplifying the truth to make it more outrageous and using Trevor’s family to make them laugh, but sacrifices must be made on the way to success.
    I’ve never been one to back down on a bet or a dare—even if it is starting to make me feel kind of like a jerk.

5. Stardates and the Spock-girl
    Another can’t-party-with-you-cuz-I-have-plans Saturday night finds me with Trevor and the rest of the geek squad at his friend Brian’s house. This time there are three girls besides me, all three confirmed geeks with absolutely nothing in common with me. They keep to themselves, flirting ineptly with the boys there. I guess I’m a little scary to them. They keep their distance from Trevor, though I can see the one girl watching him whenever she doesn’t think anyone’s looking. I’m just glad the little mouse Mary Ellen isn’t here.
    Brian’s parents have made a rec room in the detached garage behind their house, with a flat-screen TV, pool table, fridge, and microwave. There are plenty of couches and bean bag chairs scattered around to accommodate large parties. His mom, who is one of the few adults who seems to take me in stride and isn’t overly judgmental of me, has already filled the room with more food than a small army could eat and filled the fridge with sodas. She even put in a few healthy food items that a girl might like to eat instead of all the usual boy foods.
    We’ve just finished the newest Star Trek movie, which I actually watched. It was pretty good—lots of action, hot leading actor. I had no preconceived notions though. I’ve never seen a single episode of the original on TV. Like anyone else on this planet, though, I’m aware of the basic premise and have a very rudimentary knowledge of it. So it has been with much amusement that I’ve observed Jim scribbling notes furiously throughout the movie, clucking his tongue and grunting