To be in a flap is to panic because something has gone wrong. Jenny has a good reason for her flap
Jenny: Annie? It’s Jenny. I’m in a real flap here at the moment. I can’t find my passport!
Annie: But you’re off on that business trip to Sydney on Thursday. What’s happened?
Jenny: I’m trying not to panic and think clearly, but I’ve hunted all over the flat and I cannot find it anywhere.
Annie: Where do you usually keep it?
Jenny: I have a small safe in the wardrobe in my bedroom and I keep all my important documents in there. That’s where my passport should be. I opened the safe to get it out this morning, and it isn’t there. I’m in a real flap.
Annie: Have you taken everything else out of the safe and checked it isn’t under anything?
Jenny: That’s the first thing I did. I do keep a lot of stuff in there. But I’ve emptied it, and laid all my documents and envelopes on the floor. Annie, my passport just isn’t there. I don’t know what to do next.
Annie: I know it’s easier said than done, but try not to panic. Just calm down a minute and let’s think this through. Have you been through all the drawers in your bedroom? And all the other drawers and cupboards in the flat? Sometimes we do things without thinking. You might have had your passport in your hand and just put it down somewhere or put it into another drawer or somewhere without thinking.
Jenny: I knew I could rely on you to calm me down a bit. But yes, I looked everywhere in the apartment
Annie: Think. When did you last have your passport? You must have had it when you booked your ticket. Did you book online? Don’t you need your passport number if you book an air ticket online?
Jenny: When I go on a business trip I never book the flights myself. A secretary at work does it.
Annie: So, when did you last have your passport in your hand? Didn’t you do a trip to Germany last month? Surely you would put your passport in the safe as soon as you got back home.You are usually so organised.
Jenny: I’m sure that I did. I always put it in the safe along with any foreign money I have left when I get back from a business trip.
Annie: Is your leftover money from Germany in there?
Jenny: It is. It’s all there in an envelope but my passport is not there. And I definitely haven’t used it since I got back from Germany.
Annie: Are you sure that was the last time you used it?
Jenny: Definitely. Where have I been since?
Annie: Have you gone through the bags you took on that trip? Are you sure your passport isn’t still in your handbag or laptop case?
Jenny: I’ve checked both. And the coat I was wearing on the return trip - I wondered if I had slipped the passport into a pocket. I wonder if it fell out of my pocket
Annie: I think if you’d left it in the taxi, the taxi driver would have handed it in to the police. Taxi drivers are good with things like that.
Jenny: I thought about that. I’m going to ring the police station just in case. But if they don’t have it, I’m not sure what I will do. This is panic stations! Help!