Don't worry, lots of other people are in the same position as you, so you definitely won't be alone. Basically...just go with the flow of conversation, ask questions about the other person (nothing too personal, obviously) - people like talking about themselves. I'm still working on not being so shy, but I've found I've gotten a bit better at it as I've gotten more practice.

I can't say much about AP scores/credit since...well, I was in English minor, so I took English classes anyway, and my AP credit was only good for the equivalent of 1 class in my school. XD