In a recent IN feature, teens were asked to share stories of their crushes. Here is the winning entry:

He was a dream come true. Fair, handsome and, wow, didn't he have a melodious voice...

I wasn't totally invisible to him since we were in the same MT class. His friends were my friends, which in turn made us friends. Well, indirectly..

I had a huge crush on him then, five years ago when I was in Primary 5.

Almost every girl I knew had a crush on him. So, I figured: "Why hide my feelings towards him? After all, we're friends, right?"

So, one fine day, I gathered all my courage...to send him an SMS to say "Hi!" and talk, hoping that our conversation would make him see the real me and like me.

Our conversation went smoothly until he sensed what I was up to. He sent me an SMS saying: "I'm sorry but I don't entertain girls like you."

That felt worse than a big slap on my face!

That's probably the reason it has stayed in my mind till now.

However, it didn't make me despondent enough to do anything stupid. Here's what I told myself: "If he doesn't like me for who I really am, then he's not worth my time."

Of course, it took some time to heal, but eventually I got over it.

Now, I've moved on.

I'm happily attached to a guy I got to know and I'm happy.

Occasionally, I run into Mr Perfect and his girlfriend. And you know what? We're still friends.

So, take my advice and don't hang on to someone who doesn't like you for your true self.

You'll be fine.

- Nur Afini Abdul Gani, 16, Sec 4, Tanjong Katong Secondary School

Excerpts from the runners-up

"I went to school, I came home, and cried. Every day, this cycle made its round. As long as I saw him in school, I would cry that night; when he graduated, I ached with the emptiness within. I started to drown myself in words and phrases. Every day, I wrote essays filled with flowery words and complex phrases that one would require a dictionary to understand."

- Hoo Xun Lin, 16, Sec 4, Dunman High School

"All it took was a slight eye contact and I was completely mesmerised. Soon enough, I tried every single attention-seeking antic but it was all to no avail. It soon lowered my self-esteem. Now, a simple 'Hi' was difficult for me. I do hope one day the inner me will burst out and say all the things I've been yearning to say to her. She became another reason to love life."

- Lee Zhixiong, 15, Sec 3, Bukit Merah Secondary School

"A rubber band. Those heavy-duty, thick, elastic, red ones. That was all it took to forget my crush. I love her, or at least, I think I did. I told her and got rejected. When I think about her, I snap the rubber band. All it took was one rubber band, one week, to get rid of the crush. What is left are just marks from a rubber band - and the memory of the crush."

- Darrick Chang Yong Liang, 14, Sec 2, Anderson Secondary School

This article was first published in IN, a publication of The Straits Times, on Sept 29, 2008.

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