Rick Brick and the Quest to Save Brickport: An Unofficial LEGO Novel
4 Rick Brick and the Quest to Save Brickport backing up In fact the more closely Rick listened the more he noticed it sounded exactly like his alarm clock Rick rolled off his squat brick bed and landed face first on the studded floor It had all been a lovely dream Had Rick not fallen out of bed he might have stayed in his perfect dream world all day As it was he was tempted to remain on the floor When he finally pulled himself to his feet he tripped over his briefcase on the way to the bathroom His tooth brush was stuck in the rack and as he yanked it out he knocked his favorite razor into the toilet Luckily Rick didn’t have much use for the razor His face was always shiny and smooth whether he shaved or not Rick brushed his teeth vigorously His expres sion might have been as cheerful as usual but his spirits were low He had a meeting with his partner Rita that he was not looking forward to Business was bad at Brick and Block Builders the company he and Rita co-owned The town of Brickport was almost bankrupt and no one wanted new buildings anymore With a heavy sigh Rick wiped tooth paste from his mouth with his pajama sleeve and went to the bedroom to get dressed Putting on his shoes took longer than usual he couldn’t get them to click into place Rick was nearly out the door before he realized he’d snapped
Trouble in Brickport 5 his shirt on backwards Thankfully he was having a good hair day but then every day was a good hair day in Brickport Even when everything else was falling apart you could still count on your hair to be perfect With a deep breath Rick picked up his briefcase and headed out the door He wandered down Pegg Street toward Rotor Boulevard As he turned the corner he tripped over the edge of a sidewalk baseplate and slid sev eral feet on his stomach Blasted sidewalk yelled Rick to no one in particular Rick tripped in a different spot on his walk almost every day The flat gray bricks and slabs that made up the sidewalks in Brickport never matched or fit together properly Some of them weren’t even locked onto other bricks One misstep could send a whole piece spinning across the street Many of the studs on the sidewalk blocks were worn off completely It made the hills even more difficult to climb The buildings that lined the sidewalks were in no better shape Most of them couldn’t even be called buildings they had fallen completely apart or had been picked apart so that they were more space than brick Two-by-twos and two-by-fours had been pulled out of the middle of walls Corner
6 Rick Brick and the Quest to Save Brickport bricks were missing on many buildings Even the structures that were still standing and intact were depressing to look at Many of them had been put up fast to make a quick buck and now they sat empty Odd-shaped pieces from various sets were crammed together haphazardly because the right bricks weren’t available and none of the colors matched Everything was being gradually picked apart Rick wondered if he might just walk outside one day and find nothing but piles of odd-shaped pieces that were of no use to anyone The thought made him sad He liked to think that most bricks had a job that there was at least one place for every brick Rick turned toward the harbor It took a lit tle longer to get to work that way but he liked the walk better Boats still came to the port even though there weren’t quite as many of them There weren’t nearly as many recreational boats as there once were they had sailed for bluer seas The parks were covered with gar bage and broken equipment but there were still green baseplates here and there and clusters of plants and flowers that some of the residents had attached to help cheer things up with out help from the city There was hope if you were willing to look for it It was hard for Rick
Trouble in Brickport 7 to give up on Brickport It had always been his home and he loved it Rick turned right at the corner and headed toward Starbricks There was a scuffle in front of the entrance Three young men were teasing a scruffy old man wearing a battered trench coat and a cap tain’s hat Nice hat Cap’n How much you want for it said the biggest boy in the group Nothing Good He held the cap in the air just out of the old man’s reach Hey Hey Leave him alone Rick shouted He tried to look as intimidating as possible The boys turned toward him shocked Oh you want the hat Mr Tough Guy the leader said Catch his briefcase Rick reached out with both hands and dropped That’s a good trade said the smallest boy He grabbed the case and bolted His friends followed Rick didn’t bother to chase them Aw what’s the use he said He handed the old man his hat Here you go Stan I can’t imagine you without this Stan was an old friend Rick usually ran into him a couple times a week and stopped to chat and share a cup of coffee The old guy was a lot like Brickport His shoes were worn and his coat was threadbare
