When someone won't get the hint?

I'll be honest and say that I never thought there would be a time when I wouldn't want to have someone's undivided attention placed on me. Allow me to paint the picture.

I met this young lady a few years back when I attended a church (largely because a good friend of mine attended it) and gave a demonstration with my friend at this church. At the time, many people came up and said they were happy with that demonstration. I thanked them for their enthusiasm and hoped that one or two might be interested enough to join us for a more serious instruction. As it happens, this young woman came up and in a stuttering, shy voice expressed her interest in seeing more. We talked some about this and it became clear she wasn't really interested in learning more. We concluded our conversation as other people came to talk to me. I promptly forgot about the meeting.

A few months went by, and I stopped by at the church again. This woman came up to me and in a halting voice, asked me if I was still doing the activity I had demonstrated. I said I still did. She again expressed interest in seeing us do another demonstration. I knew at the time that we would not be doing anymore demonstrations because funding for this activity had dried up. I told her that it wasn't likely and left it at that.

Every time I visited, if she was there, she would come by and ask me the same questions. I was getting concerned about the attention she was directing to me. I tried to politely end the conversation each time by speaking in phrases and sentences that left no room for a rejoinder. As you can tell, I was and still am not interested in this young woman.

Fast forward to the present: She has stopped attending the same service that I go to when I visit, so I am relieved to not have to be so rude any more. However, she has enrolled in the college that I am attending. And it so happens that our paths cross. She has made several attempts to enjoin me in conversation, and again I have resorted to my previous tactics to end the conversation sooner rather than later. My fellow students do nothing but watch in amusment as I squirm every which way to end the conversation. I am finding that I avoid my habitual paths to avoid bumping into her.

I am beginning to learn what it feels like to be prey rather than predator. I have determined that I don't enjoy it one bit. My friends tease me about my new girl friend and all I can do is grit my teeth while trying to think of some quip that will allow me to change the subject. Too bad it doesn't work. They enjoy watching my discomfort for them to let the issue drop.


What else can I do besides being a total jerk to get her to stop being interested in me? I feel that asking her to stop is kind of like beating up a one year old child for wanting to smile or kicking a newborn puppy. There is some horrible irony in this, but I can't see it.