DR. WALLACE: I'm a guy who is a sophomore in high school and a lot of my friends from last year are with me again in this new school year. We've also met a guy our age who is in several of our classes. He came to our school district over the summer from a state that's pretty far away.

He seems like a normal guy our age in almost every way, except that whenever anybody asks him a question, he always gives an unusual or surprising answer. One time someone came up to our group and asked for directions to a certain classroom, and without missing a beat, he looked at the guy who asked our group this question and he told him, "Visualize it in your mind and your steps will lead you there. Go that way." He then pointed in the correct general direction on our campus where the class was, but he certainly left out a lot of specifics that would've been helpful to the other kid.

A few guys in our group laughed when they heard this, and the guy who asked the question just kind of sighed, turned around and walked in that correct direction. I asked this new guy why he answers every question unusually. He answered that his best friend at his previous school told him to make sure he came up with a memorable persona when he arrived at our school as a total stranger.

Now that he knows several people, including the other five guys and me in our group of friends, I don't think he needs to do this anymore, but he still keeps doing it. Why would he act weird like this for so long? — He's Normal Yet Odd, via email

HE'S NORMAL YET ODD: His behavior is interesting at the very least. My best guess is that he's channeling the influence of a close friend from his past who is no longer physically in school with him, and this keeps him at least somewhat comforted by following the advice he was given.

However, he needs to stand on his own two feet and find his own way in his new community and at his new school. He's off to a good start by making friends with you and your circle of friends, but for him to continually try to draw attention to himself with his unusual behavior may speak to other motives or perhaps insecurities he may be harboring.

As long as he's not doing anything intentionally mean-spirited or demeaning to anyone, you may be best not to question him about it and instead try to get him to engage in the normal conversations you and your friends have, which I trust are mainly drama-free.

MY CUTE GIRLFRIEND EATS THE SAME DISH EVERY TIME WE GO OUT

DR. WALLACE: I'm a guy, and I met a really cute girl at my high school this fall, so I asked her out on a date and she accepted! We've been dating for about five weeks now and we get along great. I really like her as she's smart, funny and cute.

Over these five weeks, I've asked her out to eat several times. The odd thing is that every single time I've taken her out to eat anywhere, she has always ordered the same thing, a salad. Yes, the salads vary a bit at the different places we've gone to, but she's never eaten anything at all but a series of different salads in front of me.

She definitely is a few pounds heavier than most of the girls at my school, but I like her for who she is and also for just the way she is right now, so I don't need her to be self-conscious about eating anything she would like to eat. Do you think I should say something to her about why she always eats salads? Or would it be better to just leave that go for the time being and see if it ever comes up for discussion later? — She's Awesome as She Is, via email

SHE'S AWESOME AS SHE IS: I feel that you are off to a good start in this relationship as things are. Therefore, there's no need to prematurely press her for more information regarding her diet, food consumption or anything along those lines.

In time, she may expand her palate somewhat when the two of you go out together, and when the time is right, she will likely discuss things regarding food in future conversations along the way. With the holidays coming, especially Thanksgiving, this would give you an opportunity to ask her if she enjoys Thanksgiving dinner, and if she, like many of us in our nation, enjoys some of the leftovers almost as much as the primary Thanksgiving dinner. This may allow her to open up a bit more about what foods she enjoys beyond nice salads.

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.

Photo credit: Jeswin Thomas at Unsplash