DR. WALLACE: I'm a 17 year-old girl, my best friend is my age, and we both attend the same high school. A week ago her female cousin and her family from back east came out here to spend three weeks with my best friend's family. This past week has been absolutely insufferable!

Every time I have had free time to spend with my best friend, her cousin has been tagging along with us, which would be fine under normal circumstances. But there's nothing normal about her cousin! This girl, who's one year older than we are, is beyond snooty. She's incessantly bragging about everything and talking in great detail about all the countries in Europe she and her family are going to be visiting this July and August.

I'm not sure if I can take two more weeks of listening to her constant yammering! My problem is, I can't exactly tell my best friend not to let her cousin tag along with us. What kind of strategy can I put into place so that I don't lose my mind over the next two weeks? — Repulsed by Her Very Arrogant Cousin, via email

REPULSED BY HER VERY ARROGANT COUSIN: My advice would be to make yourself scarce the next two weeks! Simply explain to your friend that you've got several things going on that'll be keeping you busy but that you'll be available soon enough in a few weeks. Mention how this can be an opportunity for her to spend some one-on-one time with her cousin.

And when the dust settles and the air clears, and her cousin returns back east, carry on with your best friend as you did before. And in no circumstance should you mention anything at all about how you felt and still feel about her cousin. The less you say, the better, as this cousin is gone and won't be around for a very long time at this point anyhow.

Stay diplomatic and neutral on the subject of her cousin if your friend does happen to mention anything about her. Focus on the traits that make your best friend such a great friend of yours, and enjoy a good time together this summer sharing common interests and experiences. Sometimes the best strategy is to avoid an unpleasant situation entirely, then say silent about your true reasons for actually doing so.

MY BROTHER'S BAND MIGHT RUIN THIS FAMILY EVENT!

DR. WALLACE: Our family lives along a rural route in a modest Midwestern town. Every year our family holds a huge open house on a Saturday in early July. It's a local tradition that has been going on for over a decade. We have a chili cookoff, lots of barbecued meats and other foods, plus my father always hires live entertainment, typically a regional band that plays some popular cover songs.

What's different this coming year is that my younger brother started a band about eight months ago. He and his friends play around our area occasionally. I've seen them play, and they're not too bad, but they're absolutely goofy. The way they play and act, and the storytelling they do between their songs is kind of like half a concert and half a dorky vaudeville slapstick show. My brother of course begged my father for months to let him and his band "open" the show, and my father finally relented and said yes.

I'm not sure how my brother's band and their tacky schtick between songs is going to play here locally! There will definitely be some dignified and serious people like our town mayor and several businessowners in attendance. Do you think I should discourage my father from letting my brother's band play at this event? I'm two years older than my brother and can't help but roll my eyes every time I see them do their crazy antics. — They're Borderline Inappropriate, via email

THEY'RE BORDERLINE INAPPROPRIATE: My advice to you is to stay out of it! Lobbying your father to retract his approval of your brother's band playing at this event is a lose-lose proposition from your perspective. Even if you were to succeed in convincing your father to change his mind, your brother would never forgive you!

Let your father, brother and anyone else involved rise or fall on their own decisions and the pending performance. Who knows, maybe they'll tone things down, given the audience they'll be playing for. And even if they don't, it'll be a learning experience for everyone involved! My advice is to focus on hanging out with your friends and enjoying the food you like best, and simply plan to roll your eyes if your brother's usual schtick unfurls.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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