Dominik Mikulaschek (born in Linz in 1983) writes children's books that you start reading "just one chapter" of – and suddenly it's late. He loves puzzles that can actually be solved, rules that can be politely ignored (if necessary) and stories in which friendship is stronger than any clipboard. His adventures are exciting, but never too scary: they're about discovery, about sticking together – and about that tingly feeling when you realise: something's not right here... and we're the first to notice.
Dominik Mikulaschek
The Cheat Sheet Agency
Funny children's book for ages 8 and up | School, secret missions, fun
tredition GmbH
© 2026 Dominik Mikulaschek
Printing and distribution on behalf of the author:
tredition GmbH, Heinz–Beusen–Stieg 5, 22926 Ahrensburg, Germany
This work, including all parts thereof, is protected by copyright. The author is responsible for the content. Any use without his consent is prohibited. Publication and distribution are carried out on behalf of the author, who can be reached at: Dominik Mikulaschek, Holzwurmweg 5, 4040 Linz, Austria.
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Chapter 1 – The first note under Milo's notebook
On Monday morning, the Regelberg Primary School smelled as usual of a mixture of freshly mopped floors, old gym mats and the pungent scent of mint pastilles, which Inspector Ordnung constantly sucked on while patrolling the corridors with his clipboard. Milo Mertens sat at his desk in class 4b and stared at the large sign next to the blackboard, which read in bright red letters: "REPORT NOTES – IMMEDIATELY", with the word "IMMEDIATELY" underlined so thickly that the marker had almost pierced the paper. The Office for Peace and Order, or ARR for short, had put up this notice just this morning, directly below the official stamp of the "Knowledge & Warning" department, and Milo wondered if you now even needed written permission in triplicate to breathe. He adjusted his maths notebook, which, according to paragraph 12 of the school rules, had to be done with 90-degree precision, and at that very moment it happened: as Milo lifted the notebook to look for his ruler, a small, square scrap of paper slipped out that definitely did not belong there. Milo froze, because a piece of paper without an official seal was, at Regelberg Primary School, something like a ticket to the office of horror of Inspector Order, where the heating was always set to exactly 18.5 degrees and you were only allowed to sit on stools without backrests. The note was pure white, had perfectly cut edges and did not contain a single word, but only a tiny, abstract symbol in the corner that looked like a stylised lightning bolt or a very hastily drawn "Z". Milo immediately called it "agent stuff," because normal shopping lists or excuses for PE class at this school usually looked like they had been through a three-week survival course in the paper shredder. He glanced quickly to his left at Fina Fuchs, who had already pulled out her magnifying glass – okay, it was actually just a very thick lens that she kept in an old case – and was examining every speck of dust on her desk as carefully as if it were evidence in an international espionage case. "Fina, look at this," Milo whispered, taking care to barely move his lips so as not to activate the note scanner installed above the door, which immediately sounded the alarm if it registered a nervous glance. Fina leaned over the table, her braids swinging back and forth like two detective antennae, and picked up the note with tweezers that she always kept hidden in her pencil case among her coloured pencils for such emergencies. "Interesting, Milo, very interesting," she murmured as she stuck a small blue dot sticker on the back of the note to add it to her database. "If it comes regularly, it's organised, and this note was lying exactly parallel to the edge of your desk, which suggests professional delivery." At that moment, the classroom door flew open with a noise that sounded like a whole stack of legal texts hitting the floor at once, and Turbo skidded into the room, almost tripping over his own shoelaces, which, according to ARR regulations, were supposed to be secured with a double knot. "Guys, you won't believe what I found!" Turbo shouted much too loudly, which immediately caused the note scanner on the ceiling to emit a warning "MOOOP" and flash a yellow light. Turbo braked so abruptly that his rucksack lurched forward and landed right at Milo's feet, sending a small pile of white paper scraps sailing out of the side pocket. "I found three of them!" Turbo gasped, holding the pieces of paper up like a victory trophy, which, in the eyes of Inspector Order, would have looked more like a confession to serious paper crime. "One was stuck under my shoe, one was in my compartment, and the third was stuck in the middle of my cheese sandwich, which is really unfair because now I have the taste of printer ink in my mouth." Milo grabbed the notes and compared them to his find; they were all identical, square, marked with abstract symbols and exuded that strange aura of secret missions that Milo loved and feared at the same time. Ms Krambeutel entered the room, adjusted her glasses and looked mildly at the chaos Turbo had left behind like a small cloud of dust as she placed her heavy bag on the table, which made a quiet "CLANK" sound. "Let's all take our seats before the note hunt officially begins," she said in her warm voice, which didn't seem to fit with the hard metal edges of the ARR furniture. But before Milo could answer, there was a heavy stomping in the hallway that could only have come from someone whose boot soles were made of hardened rubber, making every step sound like a threat. Inspector Ordnung appeared in the doorway, his clipboard pressed tightly to his chest, his gaze scanning the room for unauthorised spontaneity or, worse, small white squares of paper. "PROJECT NOTE HUNT is hereby officially launched," he announced, his voice sounding like rusty scissors trying to cut through a telephone directory, as he held up a portable note scanner that was already flashing dangerously red. The scanner responded immediately to Turbo's nervous fidgeting with a shrill beep, making it clear to Milo that the fun was finally over and the era of total surveillance had begun. "Anyone who finds a note should breathe calmly and report it, otherwise it will be considered aiding and abetting the concealment of information," added the inspector, sticking a poster over the reporting sign showing a crossed-out note behind bars. Milo hastily shoved his notes under his thigh, which felt like sitting on a load of dynamite, while Fina was already eagerly taking notes in her secret notebook and comparing the time of delivery with the room temperature. "It's an agency, I'm telling you," Milo whispered to his friends as he watched Inspector Ordnung begin to examine the rubbish bins with a long pair of tongs. The first note had only been the beginning, and Milo sensed that behind these little pieces of paper there was a system much bigger than a simple cheat in the next test. Turbo nodded seriously, even though he was trying to peel a tiny sticker off his finger that he had accidentally pulled off one of the notes. Outside in the hallway, they could hear the clicking of the locker locking system, and Milo knew they couldn't waste any more time if they wanted to find the agency before the scanner marked them all as paper criminals. The note under Milo's thigh suddenly seemed to be burning, and when he took it out again briefly, he discovered a new mark on the back that hadn't been there before. It was a small blue arrow pointing directly towards the notice board in the corridor, where normally only the meal plans for the next three years were displayed. Milo exchanged a meaningful glance with Fina while Inspector Ordnung was busy searching a first-grader's pencil case for unauthorised messages. The adventure had officially begun, and Milo was sure that the answer to all these mysteries lay hidden somewhere between the photocopier and the caretaker's basement. "We need a plan," he muttered as Turbo quietly kicked his desk to distract the note scanner, which was still eyeing them suspiciously. Fina nodded and slammed her notebook shut with a determined bang that was almost as loud as the stamp from the Office of Knowledge & Warning. There was no longer a note under Milo's notebook, but the impression in his mind was clear enough to know that Operation Pick-up Point was the next step on their list. Milo saw Inspector Order slowly approaching their table, his scanner emitting a low hum that sounded like a growling guard dog.
Chapter 2 – Turbo finds three (unfair!)
