Although it’s exciting to be back at school seeing our friends and getting back into all our respective grooves, there’s one thing that absolutely no one wants to deal with: awkward conversations.

You can smell one of these coming from miles away. You’re buying emergency I-forgot-I’d-run-out-of-toothpaste-before-break toothpaste at CVS when suddenly, out of the corner of your eye, you spot That Girl. She was in your econ class freshman year and she lived down the hall from you in the Quad, so you used to bump into her periodically. When you had class with her, you could always start up a quick conversation about the impossible test or the T.A with Texas-shaped pit stains or the lack of soap in your hall’s bathroom.

Since you haven’t really had any sort of relationship with That Girl in x amount of months or years, you can normally get away with an “oh wow I suddenly have to check my phone” eye diversion if you pass her on Locust. Even in the current CVS situation, if this was any other time you could probably wander over to any other aisle (the adult diaper section would suffice) and be totally safe.

But there’s something about the post-winter break ambiance that evokes this unspoken compulsion to be excited about every single person you see, even if you’d normally never talk to them.

And so, hiding your grimace with practiced poise, you tap That Girl on the shoulder and initiate the inevitable awkward “how was your break” conversation.

Tune in tomorrow for a list of pointers that will be helpful in dealing with said situations (hey, not much is going on at school right now…not the optimal blogging atmosphere).