My name is Molly Hike. I'm 15 years, 6 months, and 14 days old. That would be completely normal and not unusual in the slightest, except I've been that old for the past 2 years and 22 days. I don't know what exactly happened, what stopped my clock. My parents are as clueless as I am, and doctors and scientist can't wrap their heads around it. I'm "an anomaly".

You can imagine that eternal youth comes with its downsides. For example, I'm the youngest senior in my school, and when my clock stopped back in grade 10, all but one of my friends outgrew me, so to speak. As a grade 12 student, you don't want to be seen hanging around wimpy 10th graders; it ruins your rep. I can't explain to my classmates why my school picture looks the exact same every year, or why my hair hasn't changed, or why my younger brother, Alan, is suddenly a year older than me and trying to boss me around.

Even though my body has been 15 for 2 whole years, I'm really 17. My mind hasn't stopped maturing, though most people wouldn't know because they tend to avoid the "immortal girl". It's hard to make friends when people are scared to be around you. That's why I'm so lucky I have Jaime Brewer. He's been my best friend since middle school, and he hasn't left my side, even when my clock stopped and I got stuck in time. He's stuck around, even though he's so much older than me now.

I used to think he had a crush on me, back in grade 10. I kind of hoped he did, because he was very cute, and I knew it would make Mabel Golds jealous if I had a boyfriend before her. But then I got stuck and he kept getting older while I stayed 15, and I knew it wouldn't work out.

At our junior prom, we went with each other, just as friends. I thought about kissing him to see how he'd react. I was about to do it, when Mabel yelled over at us and called him a pedophile. I was so mad, Jaime had to hold me back from beating her up, and we got ourselves kicked out of the prom. He told me he didn't care what Mabel said about him, but I did. I couldn't have her telling people that my best friend in the whole world was like that. I don't know if Jaime knows about how I had tried to kiss him that night, but I wasn't planning on telling him.

Jaime and I go shopping sometimes because it's something I like to do, and I think that all boys secretly love going to the mall. Often we don't even buy anything, but when we do, we make sure the other person likes it first. If we go clothes shopping, he sees what I try, and I see what he does, and we give each other our honest opinions. I know it seems kind of weird, but it's just a Molly and Jaime thing.

We were hanging out in the food court one weekend, and as I got up to leave, I broke my nail on the edge of the table. It hurt so bad, and I made it so much worse by pulling the nail until it was so short my finger bled. It never grew back. One of the perks of not aging is that your fingernails don't grow. That's why you'll never catch me with anything fancy on my nails. I can't risk doing anything that will hurt them because they won't come back. It's the same with my hair. I haven't cut or dyed it since the 8th grade, and I won't now because if I mess it up, it's messed up for good.

I was sitting at home on the couch watching a movie with my actual older brother, Don, when he sat up and looked at me. I like hanging out with Don because we can have real, meaningful conversations, unlike Alan and I. He asked me, "Molly, do you remember when we noticed you were stuck?" How could I forget?

It had been 10 months since the actual day my clock stopped. I had never noticed the lack of change in my body since I got stuck. I didn't know I even was stuck. How could I? Maybe a more observant person would've known that their nails were still as short as the day they had cut them almost a year ago, or that their hair hadn't grown even a centimeter. I'm not the most attentive person, but I am very nostalgic. I had been looking through the scrapbook I had made of the summer, and started to notice similarities in my hair, my height, my smile, everything. I got freaked out and showed my mom, who saw no differences either between me then and me 10 months before.

One thing led to another and we traced it back to one specific day. It hadn't been a weird day at all. I remember going out for ice cream with my friends, back when i had more than one, and then going to the mall. There wasn't a single thing off about that day, yet for some reason, God, or Mother Nature or something decided to stop my clock and have me stuck in time forever.

Alan and Don have theories about how to get my clock going again, like recreate that day and relive it, or reach some big milestone. Personally, I don't think that those things will get my time back on track. When my dad told me I would always be his little girl, this is not what I thought he meant. Now all there is to do is live as a 15 year old until I'm just... not anymore.

It's been 2 years and 22 days since I've aged so I might as well embrace my youth. I'll never be allowed to buy my own alcohol, or drive, or get married, or fly internationally by myself. Maybe Jaime will take me when he's like 25. Will we still be friends by then? All I can do, all I will ever do, is hope.