Most colleges and universities are getting out of class for the semester and in most cases that means going back home and living with your parents. Now, I love my mom and dad, but there are going to be times where I need to get out of the house. So I’m going to spend a lot of time camped out at Starbucks or whatever other place I can walk to after my sister inevitably steals my car as she tries to hide from the parents, as well. Sorry, mom and dad. And nothing ruins a perfectly good trip to the local coffee shop like running into someone you went to high school with that you have absolutely no interest in talking to. At all. So here are five things to do in order escape the awkward conversation that will soon follow or avoid them all together.

1. Tell them you’re hiding from someone else

This is a bit risky and should only be used on people who think that they’ll have the chance to catch up with you later on in the summer. What you do is you hit them with a quick and excited “Hi!” and then quickly look over your shoulder and say, “I’m so sorry, but I have to run. I think I just saw ___________ and I really don’t want to talk to them.” This is a tried and true method because you’re telling the person a little secret for him or her to gossip about later, “Oooo _______ was running away from _________ in Starbucks the other day, I wonder what happened.” And that’s all they want from you, because in reality, they're probably as bored as you are this summer.

2. Pretend you’re running an errand for boss

Most everyone has internships or summer jobs these next few months. Pretend like you’re the office errand boy/girl for the summer and you’re going on a coffee run for someone. Now if you’re in Chubbies shorts and a tank top, this might not be the most effective method, although it might get you out of talking to them in the future.

3. Act like you don’t recognize them

This is by far the meanest possible method on the list. It all depends on how you want them to view you in the future. If you act like you totally don’t know them, then you’re basically letting them, and all their high school friends know, that you’re probably a jerk now.

4. Fake a phone call and wave

No one calls anyone now anyway. So if you’re actually on the phone talking to someone, it’s probably a pretty important call. So just say things like “uh huh, yeah, I can do that” and then wave and mouth something friendly at them and walk away. This also works when running into ex girlfriends/boyfriends on campus, so keep that in mind.

5. Be overly excited to talk to them

Who knows, maybe they don’t want to talk to you as much as you don’t want to talk to them. If you go up to them and try to talk to them maybe they’ll use one of their own methods to avoid talking to you and you can get out of the whole encounter.

Good luck!