I hear you alee31!
Don't count out buddies who aren't HG+ for certain things. DS6 has a good friend who I don't think is GT at all. They play Hot Wheels and spies and build dams in the stream together and such things.
Now, granted, DS6 is a bit of a chameleon, and he does boss the poor kid around more than the kid or I would like (!), but they are good friends and they spend a lot of time together! We're always on the lookout for GT friends, too, but for some activities with some kids, GTness is not required.
And FWIW, my usual response to the school question is "We're homeschooling. DS is pretty bright, and the local school just wasn't a good fit for him."
It's the least braggy, most honest way I know of to answer the question that doesn't make it sound like DS is a behavior problem. (My mom told people that "he was having trouble" or some such thing, and they all thought he was a bad seed. I'm not willing to go that route!)
Anyway, response has been almost universally positive, so it seems to work for us. I think the "pretty" in there makes it less threatening or something. <shrug>
At least it's another option for you to consider...
