You’re halfway to your dorm, excited to curl up in your cozy blanket and watch Friends reruns, when it happens: your roommate texts you to ask if she can have the room for a little bit. And you know she doesn’t need the extra room to study—she has a boy over. Compelled to give her the A-OK, you’re temporarily homeless. Does this sound familiar? If so, don’t worry, collegiettes: you are not alone. Everyone gets sexiled at least once during these glorious four years. But where are you supposed to go when this happens? As always, we’re here to give you the lowdown.
1. Your Friend’s Dorm
Sexcapades will come and go, but your friends are there for good. So when you find yourself homeless for a few hours, head over to your BFF’s place for some much needed girl time. “I’m good friends with a couple girls on my floor,” says Nicole Gartside, a sophomore at NYU and HC Contributing Writer. “At the beginning of the year, we all bought blow-up mattresses and made a deal: if someone was sexiled, they could stay on one of the blow-up mattresses.” Just don’t forget to thank your gal pal with some frozen yogurt (and return the favor when she needs it!)!
2. The Movies
Who needs a dorm room when that new romantic comedy is calling your name? Whether you round up your friends or just plan to go solo, seeing a movie is the perfect way to pass the time. When Ryan Gosling’s perfectly chiseled abs are magnified on the big screen, you’ll definitely forget about being sexiled.
3. Your Favorite Boutique
Instead of wallowing in your sexiled sorrows, take this opportunity to participate in some much-needed therapy. That is, retail therapy. Plus, your favorite boutique is due for a new shipment of phenomenal threads. Even if you’re merely window-shopping, your roommate will be very jealous of your newfound knowledge of the store’s inventory.
4. The Gym
Take a page out of your roommate’s book and get your sweat on at the gym. Get your mind out of the gutter, collegiettes—I’m talking about a long session on the elliptical. Or relax with a yoga class if your campus’s gym has walk-in classes. Plus, isn’t this the perfect opportunity to shamelessly check out your school’s basketball team?
5. The Library
If you already have your laptop and textbooks with you, it’s fate’s way of telling you to get your homework done. “Might as well get some work done while your roommate is getting, well, done,” says Jamie Blynn, a senior at GWU and HC Contributing Writer. Maybe it’s a good thing you were sexiled—you know that you would’ve spent hours Facebook stalking that guy from last weekend if you were in your dorm with no library-goers around to judge you.
6. Camping
Sure, this solution to “Operation Sexiled Relocation” isn’t very realistic, but who hasn’t always wanted to go camping? If you have a local camping ground, a car to get to said camping ground, and a super outdoorsy friend, it’s definitely possible! If the proverbial stars are aligned, invite a bunch of friends to go (including your latest crush). You know who you’ll cozy up to at the bonfire.
7. You Campus’s Café
Leave it to your favorite café to act as a hostel while you’re sexiled. Grab a latte and spend the time texting your friends from back home for the latest gossip. Or invite your sorority sister for a much-needed catch up.
8. The Bar
If you’re of legal age and aren’t lugging around a huge backpack, call up one of your girlfriends and head to a local pub. With a couple mojitos in you, your bitterness about being sexiled will magically vanish.
9. Class
Sorry your plans to skip class were ruined, but you won’t be too bummed when your teacher has a bonus question from that destined day’s lecture on the next exam.
10. Nail Salon
If you’re in need of some pampering, treat yourself with a mani/pedi combo. You can thank your roommate later for indirectly saving your cuticles.
11. Karaoke
Sometimes, you just need to sing your feelings. Though everyone gets sexiled at some point in their college lives, you may be a little annoyed if this was, say, the fifth time this week. Grab your most theatrical friend and belt Taylor Swift’s “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.” If your campus doesn’t have a local karaoke bar—lame—a dance party to Carly Rae Jepsen’s new album in a friend’s dorm will also suffice.
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12. A Concert
Speaking of music, you’d be surprised at how inexpensive concerts can be. Call a friend who likes the same music as you and try to find some really cheap tickets to a show nearby. Whether you’re obsessed with the band or only familiar with a few songs, it’s better than listening to music on Spotify.
13. Your Hook-Up Buddy/Boyfriend’s Dorm
Just because your roommate is occupying the room doesn’t mean you can’t have some fun of your own. “Last year, when I was sexiled, I took that as the perfect opportunity to go over to my boyfriend’s apartment where he had his own room,” says a collegiette from NYU. Call your beau and ask if you can camp out at his place. Trust us, unless he’s not home or he’s suffering from a rare disease, he won’t say no.
14. Your Campus Bookstore
As nerdy as it sounds, it’s so easy to spend hours in a bookstore. Since you’ve never had the reason to before, take a trip to your bookstore and browse those novels that are on your literary bucket list. And if you happen to stumble upon a copy of Fifty Shades of Grey, feel free to skim through it. Though you may not be the sexiler, you can still immerse yourself in some steamy reads.
15. A Restaurant
Don’t let anyone fool you: collegiettes love to eat. As self-proclaimed food connoisseurs, we are always game to try the latest restaurant or that intriguing Ethiopian dish. With a couple hours to kill, give your stomach the TLC it deserves. “Whenever my roommates brought guys over, I would use it as an excuse to go get food somewhere,” says one collegiette from Ohio University. To make it interesting, go to a restaurant that you’ve never been to before.
16. Museum
Embrace your inner culture bug by heading to the closest museum. If you’ve always wanted to go but never took the initiative, why not go now? Spice up this trip and invite your guy friend who you’re secretly crushing on. Heading to a museum may not be as sexy as your roommate’s activities, but it’ll be the perfect unofficial date!
17. Home
If your college campus is a stone’s throw away from your hometown, call up one of your parents and spend the night with your family. No need to grab extra clothes and toiletries from your dorm; you have a ton of sweaters sitting in your home bedroom’s armoire. And you know that your parents will happily give you a spare toothbrush. Your roommate may be getting some action, but really, is anything better than your mom’s home cooking?
18. The Laundromat or the Laundry Room in Your Dorm
Has that pile of dirty clothes has been haunting you for days? You are not alone. Cross doing laundry off your long to-do list by asking your roommate if you can grab your hamper before she starts her, um, festivities. Since she’s kicking you out of your room, she’ll hopefully feel obligated to agree. By the time your roommate and her boy toy have done the deed, you threads will be finishing up a nice tumble dry.
19. Frat Row
It’s a weekend night and you’re not out already? Put on your hottest outfit—or raid your friend’s closet if you can’t grab a change of clothes from your place—and head to your favorite frat. Unlike your roommate, dozens of guys will be worshipping your every move on the dance floor.
20. Go Sight-Seeing
If you go to school in or near a city, you probably follow the unspoken collegiette rule: don’t act like a tourist. However, desperate times call for desperate measures. Whether you head to a historic monument or a popular park, don’t forget to snap some artsy pictures. Whoever said that being touristy isn’t fun clearly has never had an Instagram account.
21. A Hotel
Sure, you definitely don’t have the cash for this luxe option, but can’t a girl dream?
When you get back to your dorm, your roommate is probably going to want to divulge all the juicy details. But don’t forget to share what you were up to. Trust us—she might be a little jealous!