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!
On one particular springtime day, Libby and Flapjax packed their bags and prepared for their next adventure: a mission to explore Downtheback.
The big human in the police uniform knelt down beside Flapjax. She picked the phone out of his paw and held it up to the human boy. Flapjax tried to grab it back, but the woman held him in a tight grip, so he could barely wiggle let alone escape.
Adventures of Flapjax 