Justin Tolchuck is a sensitive, lanky 16-year-old just trying to make it through the social nightmare of high school in Medora, Wisconsin, with the help of his well-meaning mom Franny, aspiring-entrepreneur dad Gary and his beautiful and popular younger sister Claire.
Raja explains in class how close he feels to Justin, and the entire high school begins teasing them mercilessly about being a "couple." Horrified that he is more of a target than ever before, Justin turns to Claire for help, and she advises him to totally ignore Raja.
On Franny’s insistence, Raja agrees to join Justin’s after-school Rocket Club but soon learns that no such club exists; it was simply an excuse for Justin to get away from Franny's constant supervision and have some time with his buddies.
Justin, along with every guy in school, is furious with Raja after he convinces the hottest girl in school, Anita, that she should dress more modestly. However, Claire is thrilled that Amy is no longer the leader of the A-List crowd and quickly takes her place. When Justin tells Franny it's time for him to start choosing his own clothes, she turns her attention to updating Gary's wardrobe.
Gary is ashamed to tell the family he's been fired from his job, so he tries to get everyone to cut costs. Not wanting to be a burden on the family, Raja gets a job at a convenience store, much to Gary's delight.
Justin is looking forward to serving on the Homecoming Float committee, where his idea for the previous year's float was a big hit. However, when Raja innocently questions Justin's new idea for a float and the committee chooses Raja's idea over Justin's, a feud begins between the two friends.
Stressed out over midterms, Raja horrifies the Tolchuck family when he casually begins smoking. When he explains that it is common practice in Pakistan for people of all ages to smoke, Gary and Franny tell him they both struggled to quit and smoking is forbidden in their home.
Claire forces Justin to become the school's mascot - Musky, the Fish - but just the thought of performing makes Justin physically ill, so Raja takes over the job and the crowd goes wild for his gravity-defying moves.
Justin and Raja are excited when they are asked to participate in the annual Junior Prank. The plan is to flood the teachers' lounge, but Raja finds the idea too destructive and convinces Justin to sabotage the prank.
As Christmas approaches, Raja mentions that the Tolchucks' trip to the local mega-store every Sunday seems to be their substitute for church. Franny is horrified that Raja thinks the family is spiritually bankrupt and insists that they resume attending church, despite Gary's lack of enthusiasm.
Justin becomes the target of Trey, the biggest, scariest bully at school. Justin is surprised and relieved to find that he can play on Trey's emotions by making up a story that Franny is in a coma.
When the high school conducts career aptitude testing, Raja is told he should become a doctor, but Justin shows no aptitude for any particular career. Franny and Gary put so much pressure on Justin to choose a career path, that he escapes to the home of his buddy Dooley, where he notices that Dooley's father is a stay-at-home-dad.
Franny's community theater group puts on a production of "Rent," and when she can't get Justin to audition for a part, she convinces him to at least join the stage crew so they can have some quality mother/son time.
The Tolchucks are set to fly to Vancouver for a family vacation, but when Raja begins praying at the airport, the family is questioned and the trip is postponed.
Raja befriends an annoying girl named Mindy, feeling that she is unfairly ostracized by the other students. After spending a day studying with her, Raja realizes how truly annoying Mindy can be and is horrified when Justin tells him Mindy believes she and Raja are dating.
When Justin's English class is assigned the book "Madame Bovary," one of the PTA moms begins a campaign to ban "smutty books" from the school curriculum, leading both Justin and Franny to actually read the books for the first time.
As an extracurricular activity, Raja joins Students against Drunk Driving and is given the job of organizing the annual event - a fake funeral for a student who was killed in a drunk-driving accident.
Justin notices that Raja is obsessed with Sadika Sadaqatmal, one of the few Muslim girls in Medora. When Franny hears about Raja's interest in a girl, she immediately arranges for a date which requires the attendance of every member of the Tolchuck and Sadaqatmal families.