Post 1: Moving Day

It was the worst day ever…worse even than that time Flapjax got bearnapped by a pirate, or that time he got left behind at a bakery (okay, so the second one hadn’t been that bad…).

Flapjax sat at his post on Libby’s bed, staring with horror as empty boxes began to fill up, and slowly but surely the cozy room around him started to disappear.

Flapjax didn’t want to move. He loved his home! It was his first real home, and he had been so happy there ever since he had been brought home from the store on his Adoption Day.

Libby didn’t want to move either. She carefully packed up her precious belongings, putting each toy delicately into a box, sniffling back tears with each one. She loved her bedroom and her house with its big backyard and Downtheback. Oh no! They’d never get to explore Downtheback again!

A big, blue truck grunted and whined as it pulled up to the front of the house. Flapjax and Libby raced to the window to peer out at the truck that would carry everything to their new home.

Dad jumped out of the driver’s seat and raced up the steps to the house. “Kids! Time to go! Are you ready?” he called up the stairs to them.

No! They were not ready…they would never be ready! If they were never ready, they wouldn’t be able to move…

Flapjax and Libby grinned at each other as they hatched their brilliant plan.

“Libby, Flapjax! We’re not kidding, we’re leaving now!” Mom scolded as she walked into their room.

All of the boxes had been packed up and stacked in the big truck, and now Libby stood alone in her empty bedroom. Even her bed had been packed! But there was one thing that they had missed, and there was no way they’d leave without him.

She spun around the room in a pretend panic. “No! We can’t go! Flapjax is missing!” she screeched, frantic on the outside, but knowing very well exactly where she had tucked him safely away.

They could never leave without Flapjax.

“Don’t worry, hun, I’m sure he’s just packed away in one of the boxes. We’ll find him when we unpack!” Mom said confidently, ushering a confused Libby out of the room and down the stairs.

When she it finally hit her, Libby stopped in her tracks and tried to go back upstairs. “No! He’s not in a box! He’s still here!”

But Mom wasn’t listening. She just picked Libby up and carried her out into the car so they could follow the big truck to their new house, and all Libby could do was watch as they pulled away from home, and away from Flapjax…

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Post 2: The Attic Escape

Flapjax gulped. He stared out of the little attic window at his family as they drove away to their new home.

He was in SERIOUS trouble.

Sure, he had been on his own before…but always around humans of some sort! And always with access to snacks! Now he had neither. He was stuck in the attic of a big, empty house, and even if he could escape the attic, he had watched Mom pack up the refrigerator and kitchen cabinets earlier, so he knew there would be no food!

He paced a long wooden beam that ran across the attic. He paced slowly at first, getting faster and faster as his panic began to grow. And then…

Whoops!

Suddenly Flapjax was falling, but instead of hitting the hard wood of the attic floor, he fell with a springy crunch on something scratchy…and then he kept going. Before he knew it, he was falling through the attic and crashing onto the hard floor of what had once been Libby’s bedroom.

Flapjax lay on his back while he caught his breath, staring up at the big, bear-shaped hole that stared back at him from the ceiling.

At least Mom and Dad weren’t around to see the mess he had made!

Flapjax rose and shook himself off, sneezing and scattering ceiling debris across the empty room. Well…he had figured out a way out of the attic, even if it had not exactly been on purpose!

Flapjax plodded his way through the quiet house, thinking and thinking, trying to come up with a plan. His family would come back for him…right? Libby knew he was still here…she would never forget him…right??

He would just have to survive until they returned. Being on your own couldn’t be that hard, could it? After all, humans and grown up bears did it all the time.

Flapjax’s tummy rumbled, and he sighed. If only he had thought to stash away some snacks…

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Post 3: Home Alone

Flapjax was King of his castle, and it was THE BEST! He had the whole place to himself and no one to tell him to stop causing trouble or to go to bed. Of course, he also had no bed…or TV…or snacks…or his best friend, Libby. But as long as he didn’t think about those things, he was okay.

When it got dark out and Libby still hadn’t come back to get him, Flapjax panicked. He ran all around the big, empty house that used to be filled with his family and all of the things they loved. He looked for anything he could use to survive being home alone.

Luckily for Flapjax, his humans had forgotten a few things particularly useful to a stuffed bear trying to make it on his own…

Flapjax was rooting around all of the kitchen drawers (at least the ones at bear height), looking for something to quell the rumbling in his tummy, when he made his first discovery: the menu for Papa Luke’s, their favorite restaurant, where every Friday they went for a big, cheesy pizza. Flapjax knew that menu like he knew his favorite book—or at least he knew the picture of the pizza on the front of it like he knew the red hat and blue coat of his idol, Paddington Bear.

But how could he order pizza without a phone?

Flapjax dug through closets and opened cabinets, and that’s where he found it—an old cellphone. He tried to turn it on, but it was dead. He climbed into the cabinet and jumped excitedly when he felt the long, thin cord of a plug that fit perfectly into the phone. He plugged the charger into an outlet and grinned with joy when the little red light on the phone lit up, telling him it was working. He was saved!

But when he typed in the numbers and waited for the dial-tone, nothing happened. He frowned with frustration and kept typing and pushing all the buttons on the phone. Finally…success!

“Town Police Department,” a voice spoke hurriedly on the other side. “What is your

emergency?”

Flapjax wasn’t sure exactly how to communicate this exact emergency. Did a hungry tummy count? Or maybe being left behind by your humans?

Before he could think of what to do, the human at the other end spoke again.

“Hello? Are you still there? Are you unable to speak?”

Flapjax stared at the phone in awe. She was reading his mind!

“Okay, I have the address where you are calling from on your phone and will send a unit over. Stay with me, now!”

Flapjax grinned. He would be waiting!

*****

Libby was sitting with her parents at Papa Luke’s, but she didn’t want to eat—not even the steaming, hot pizza dripping melty cheese on the plate in front of her. She was too worried about Flapjax to eat!

Suddenly, the door to Papa Lukes flew open and two police officers walked in. One was holding a fluffy teddy bear under his arm. The teddy bear looked over at Libby with a sheepish face.

“Flapjax!” Libby screamed, running over and grabbing her best friend when the police officer held him out to her.

Mom and Dad looked at each other and then over at the police officers, confused.

“How in the world…?” Mom began as Dad walked over to speak with the officers.

“Sir, someone called the police department, and when we showed up, the house was empty, and this bear was sitting in the entryway holding a menu for Papa Luke’s. It was about break time, so we figured we’d come by for dinner and see if this little guy belonged to someone here.” The officer glanced over at Libby and Flapjax and smiled.

Dad smiled too and shook the officers’ hands. “Thank you! You saved the day!”

The other officer picked up two slices of pizza from the counter and said, “Don’t thank us yet, sir, you haven’t seen what we had to do to get into your house.”

Dad’s smile faded as he looked over to the still sheepish-looking Flapjax.

Flapjax buried his face in Libby’s arms. He wasn’t about to tell Dad about Flapjax-shaped hole in the ceiling either…