Shiloh rolled out of bed at eight o'clock, about five hours after she had dropped into it. After quickly getting dressed, she grabbed a pen and paper and left her house. She began the walk to the residence of Rex Racer, reaching there about nine.
She sighed as she stood outside the door. Here we go, she thought, ringing the doorbell. She turned and looked out over the other houses on the street as she waited.
Surprisingly, Rex Racer seemed to live in a pretty normal house on a nondescript street. Minus the race car in the driveway, no one would ever expect it to be the residence of a world-renowned racer. Maybe he's not as stuck up as I thought, Shiloh thought, turning her attention to her outfit.
She was wearing a pair of white denim high waisted shorts with light blue sandal wedges and a blousy blue shirt with a length of ruffles down the button line. Her hair was in Dutch braids and she had mascara on since she hadn't taken it off from work last night. Is he home? Shiloh wondered, reaching to ring the doorbell one last time.
Before she could hit the button again, the door was opened and a dark-haired boy with big brown eyes opened the door. He yawned, his wavy hair and pajamas rumpled like he had just rolled out of bed.
"Hello?" he muttered, rubbing his eyes.
Definitely just woke up, Shiloh decided. "Good morning. I'm looking for Rex Racer?" she said.
"He's not interested," the boy said, before promptly shutting the door.
"Wait!" Shiloh cried, knocking on the door. Are you kidding me?! she thought. Fine. Sorry teacher, they wouldn't even let me in the door! Shiloh mimicked, turning and beginning her walk down the drive.
She was halfway down the drive before a feminine voice called out after her. "Excuse me? Miss!" Shiloh turned. A motherly looking woman in an apron was jogging down the drive.
"Yes ma'am?" she said.
"I'm so sorry, Speed thought you were here to try to convince Rex to race for another sponsor," the woman explained. Shiloh raised her eyebrows.
"Do I really look the type?" she asked. The woman laughed.
"Oh no! Dear me! Speed just wasn't looking. We get so many of those that I'm afraid he's stopped checking," the woman said.
"That must be a lot."
"Oh, you have no idea! My name is Mrs. Racer, yours?" Mrs. Racer asked, shaking Shiloh's hand.
"Shiloh Warner. I'm actually here to interview Rex Racer for a school paper," Shiloh explained.
"Oh, well isn't that interesting! Would you like to come in? Rex isn't awake yet, but I've just finished making pancakes and he usually raises himself from the grave about thirty seconds after the serving plate hits the table."
"Um…" Shiloh started, not sure. Her stomach finished for her, letting out a loud growl.
"I'll take that as a yes. Come in, come in!" Mrs. Racer said, pulling Shiloh along. They entered the house, which was rather normal and modest, minus the large television and the car parked in the living room. Shiloh raised her eyebrow as Mrs. Racer sat her down at the table next to a large man with a mustache, the little boy who had opened the door right across from her.
"Shiloh, this is Pops and Speed. Rex should be out any minute," Mrs. Racer said, walking back to the kitchen.
"Nice to meet you," Pops said, putting down the newspaper he had been reading and shaking Shiloh's hand.
"Pleasure is mine sir," Shiloh replied, folding her hands in her lap, awkwardly.
"You've got a good grip," Pops commented approvingly, putting his paper on the seat beside him.
"Probably from holding trays all day long. Deep dish pizzas get heavy."
"You work at a pizza place?" Speed asked, intrigued.
"Just the pizza hut down the road," Shiloh said.
"So if you're not here to sign Rex for another company, why are you here?" Speed asked. He was looking a good deal more awake, his eyes trained on Shiloh with suspicion.
"Speed! That is rude," his mother admonished. "She's here to interview him for a school paper."
"Oh, yuck," Speed said, his suspicious expression turning to one of disgust.
"Agreed, kid," Shiloh stage-whispered, leaning forward slightly.
"Mmm, agree with what?" a deep, sleep-filled voice asked. Shiloh turned her head and immediately schooled her expression into one of indifference as she sat back in her seat. A guy in his late teens and very obviously not finished with the task of pulling his shirt on was walking out of the back hallway, which presumably led to the bedrooms. He had dark brown hair, not quite as wavy as Speed's but still quite unruly.
"Rex, put your shirt on before you enter the dining room please," Mrs. Racer admonished, coming out of the kitchen with a plate of pancakes. Crap, that's him?! Shiloh thought.
"Sorry mama," Rex Racer said, going up to his mother and giving her a kiss on the cheek.
"Especially since we have a cute young lady eating with us," Pops added, going back to his newspaper.
Rex turned towards the table. "Oh hello," he said, finally awake enough where he could register Shiloh's presence. Shiloh kept her face indifferent, though most girls would've probably turned to goop under the gaze of a half-asleep Rex Racer. "Are you a friend of Speed's?" He asked.
"What? No, she's here for you. Something about an interview for a school paper," Speed quickly and adamantly clarified, reaching over the table and filling up his plate with pancakes.
"Really? Oh yuck," Rex said, his face contorting into the same look of disgust Speed's had moments before.
"My thoughts exactly," Shiloh said, suppressing a smirk. Rex moved around to the other side of the booth and slid in next to Shiloh. Shiloh suppressed the urge to slide in further to avoid him.
"So what's the paper on?" Rex asked, reaching across the table in front of her to dish up a heaping plate of pancakes.
"We're allowed to pick the topic ourselves. The celebrities we had to interview were allocated though. I got you," Shiloh explained, eyeing the plate of pancakes as Rex placed it in front of himself.
"Really? Well, I'll try not to make it too painful for you," Rex said, making an obvious jab at the, what Shiloh had thought, slight and practically unnoticeable annoyance in her voice. He's observant. Surprising, she thought. "Would you like some?" He asked, indicating the pancakes.
"Oh I'm-" Shiloh's statement was cut off as Rex reached forward and grabbed her plate, loading as many pancakes on it as he had on his, before placing it back in front of her.
"So what are your questions?" he asked, taking a large bite out of his stack.
"Ah, ah, ah! After you both eat. Here you go," Mrs. Racer said, placing a bottle of syrup on the table.
"Yes ma'am," Shiloh and Rex replied. Rex reached out for the bottle and drowned his pancakes before drowning Shiloh's in syrup as well.
"So, Shiloh, what school do you go to?" Mrs. Racer asked, sitting down.
"I go to Mid High. I'm a freshman there," Shiloh replied, taking a bite out of her pancakes. She hummed as she chewed. The pancakes were fabulous.
"A freshman? How's high school treating you?" Rex asked, taking another bite of his pancakes.
"Decently. I stay out of the social scene and the homework isn't too crazy, so it's not that bad," Shiloh replied, going immediately for another bite.
"Have you made some nice friends?" Mrs. Racer said. Shiloh shook her head.
"If I'm not doing homework, I'm working. I don't really have time for friends," she answered.
"That must be hard," Mrs. Racer said, giving Shiloh a pitying glance. Shiloh shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
"Mom, I didn't have hardly any friends in high school either," Rex said, deflecting the conversation.
"That's true. You were always so busy with your racing. You ignored practically all of your school work too," Mrs. Racer said, uttering a long-suffering sigh.
"I passed, didn't I?" Rex complained, indignant.
"By the skin of your teeth," Pops said, laughing.
"Gee, thanks Pops," Rex groused. "You're writing all this down aren't you?" He asked Shiloh.
"Every last bit of it," she said, shoving more pancakes into her mouth. Pops chuckled.
"Better watch out for this one, she's sharp," he said.
"You can take that as a compliment," Rex told Shiloh, noticing her confused expression.
"Got it," she said.
"What do you think of Rex's racing?" Speed asked.
"Speed, cut it out!" Rex said, exasperated. "Sorry, he asks everyone that question," Rex explained, turning his eyes on Shiloh.
"He just loves talking about his big brother," Mrs. Racer said, smiling.
"It's okay, I think it's cute," Shiloh replied.
"Do you have any siblings?" Mrs. Racer asked.
"Oh, no. I actually live with a foster family and they don't have any other kids right now, so it's just me," Shiloh answered.
"Oh, that's awful!" Mrs. Racer said.
"Only if you think siblings are a good thing. What's your opinion on them Shiloh?" Rex asked, obviously realizing the true meaning of his mother's statement and ignoring it.
"In my experience, they are something to be foregone. Of course, I'm sure it's different with blood siblings," she stated.
"Depends on the day," Rex said, shooting Speed a glare.
"Hey!" Speed complained. Shiloh laughed.
"Yeah, yeah, but at the end of the day I'd still choose to have you stick around," Rex said. Speed smiled.
"Great pancakes as usual," Pops said, giving Mrs. Racer a kiss on the cheek.
"Oh, definitely!" Shiloh, Rex, and Speed all agreed.
"Would you like some help with the cleanup?" Shiloh asked as Mrs. Racer began cleaning up the plates.
"Oh, no I'm fine! You go interview Rex," the kind woman said, shooting her a smile.
"Right, let's go! You don't mind if I work on the Mach 3 while we talk, do you?" Rex asked, standing up.
"So long as you can answer questions, I don't really care," Shiloh replied, standing up as well.
"Great, let's go," he said, leading the way outside.
"It was nice meeting you Shiloh!" Mrs. Racer said, her statement quickly repeated by the house's other two occupants.
"You as well!" Shiloh replied. Rex got the front door for her and she walked out, Rex following close behind.
Alrighty, I edited this and fleshed it out some more, as well as adding additional dialogue. It's still rougher than I'd like, but considering how awful I usually am when it comes to working within previously set confines, I'd say I did okay. Lemme know what you think.