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 Schoolbag Tornado
Funny school story for ages 8 and up | Short chapters & pictures
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 its parts, 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.
Contact address according to the EU Product Safety Regulation:
Chapter 1 – The first tornado in the hallway
At Regelberg Primary School, Monday mornings smelled, as always, of a mixture of freshly mopped linoleum, old gym bags and the very personal fear of an empty battery in the sit-up alarm system. Milo Mertens adjusted his satchel and took a deep breath. He knew that Monday was only a good day if you managed to enter the school building without having to fill out a form right away. "Do you think the air quality is okay today?" asked Turbo, trying to run, zip up his jacket and unwrap a piece of chewing gum at the same time. The result, as always with Turbo, was a medium-sized physical miracle of tangled arms and legs. He tripped over his own shoelaces but caught himself with an inelegant pirouette right in front of the notice board. Fina Fuchs was already standing there, staring at a new notice that looked so grey and official that Milo immediately felt a slight tingling in his fingertips. "Chaos always leaves traces," she murmured without taking her eyes off the paper. "But this time they've stamped the traces with an official seal." Milo stepped beside her and read the bold letters, which looked as if they had been drawn with a ruler. At the top, in large letters, it said: BAG NOTICE. Below it was an official stamp from the ARR – Bags & Tactics Department. The text was short and sweet: "School bags must be closed. Anything else is disorderly. Effective immediately: BAG INSPECTION. Anyone who loses something loses points." Milo swallowed. "Bag inspection?" he repeated quietly. "Are they even allowed to do that without a privacy screening request?" "In the Regelberg universe, you can do anything as long as you have a pen that writes in three different shades of grey," Fina replied matter-of-factly. She tapped her finger on the paragraph about the points. "That's not a hint, Milo. That's a threat with a file number." Turbo, who had finally managed to sort out his chewing gum in his mouth and his arms in his sleeves, grinned. "My bag is so tight that not even a molecule can escape," he boasted, patting his bulging rucksack. At that moment, it happened. It started with a soft whistling sound, as if someone had hidden a very naughty flute in the ventilation shaft. Milo saw the hairs on Turbo's head stand on end, which could also have been due to Turbo's poor combing skills. But then Milo felt the gust of wind himself. It wasn't a normal draught, as one might expect on a windy Monday morning. It was a sudden, spinning whirlwind that formed in the middle of the hallway in front of the coat hooks. Within seconds, the tidy corridor was transformed into a wind zone of "complete chaos". "What is that?" shouted Turbo as his hood blew over his face. The first school bags hanging on the hooks began to dance. Zippers that were supposed to be secure popped open with a metallic click. Notebooks flew through the air like startled birds. A yellow maths worksheet sailed right past Milo's nose. Pencil cases opened in flight and spat out coloured pencils, which crashed into the lockers like little rockets. It was a school bag tornado, right here, between Room 4b and the staff room. "Hold on to your stuff!" Milo shouted, trying to hold on to his own backpack. But the wind was stronger. It tugged at the straps and pulled at the tabs. An empty plastic lunch box clattered across the linoleum like a very fast, very nervous beetle. Turbo saw a flying folder coming towards him. "I've got it!" he shouted, spreading his arms to save the escaped knowledge. He lunged forward, tripped over an abandoned trainer and got himself into the perfect catching position. Unfortunately, the trajectory of the maths notebook had not been calculated for Turbo's hands. With a loud smack, the notebook landed exactly where Turbo would normally have been wearing his glasses, if he hadn't left them on the bus again. Turbo caught the notebook – with his face. "Spot on," Turbo muttered from under the notebook and slowly sank to his knees. Milo wanted to help him up , but was distracted by a torrent of vocabulary cards raining down. Fina, on the other hand, stood completely unimpressed in the midst of the chaos, holding her little box ready for evidence. She grabbed a blue rubber band that was flying past her at low altitude. Then she plucked a small, crumpled piece of paper out of the air that had gotten caught in a potted plant. "Interesting," she said as she put the piece of paper in her box. "Very interesting." Milo ducked as a flying sock (why did someone have a single sock in their bag?) swept over his head. "This is planned!" he shouted to Fina as he tried not to be knocked over by a rolling water bottle. "This isn't normal wind!" Fina nodded almost imperceptibly. "The wind is coming from the direction of the ventilation grilles, but the fans are actually set to zero," she remarked, tapping her watch. "And the timing is perfect. It's exactly the time of the morning corridor inspection." Suddenly, as quickly as it had come, the tornado stopped. The air stood still. What remained was a corridor that looked as if someone had thrown an entire stationery shop into a giant blender. Notebooks, pens, rulers and at least three different types of sandwiches were scattered everywhere. Amidst this landscape of paper and plastic debris, a figure emerged that looked as grey and unyielding as a wall of filing cabinets. Inspector Order came around the corner, his clipboard held tightly to his chest like a shield against any form of joy. He looked at his watch, then at the chaos, and finally at Milo. "Disorder in the hallway sector," he rasped, his voice sounding like rusty scissors cutting through thick paper. He adjusted his glasses and made a sweeping gesture over the scattered school supplies. "This is a flagrant violation of bag integrity safety regulations." He stepped towards Milo and tapped an empty field on his clipboard with his silver pen. "Mertens, Milo. This will result in a significant reduction in your rest points." Milo wanted to protest, but Fina squeezed his arm warningly. Behind the inspector, another sign appeared, as if attached to the wall by magic, reading: . It was neon yellow and bore the inscription: BAG CLOSED – OTHERWISE! Beneath it, in smaller letters, was written: PROJECT WIND ORDER STARTING NOW. Milo looked at Turbo, who was laboriously peeling the maths notebook from his forehead. He looked at Fina, who was clutching her evidence box tightly. And he looked at the inspector, who had already started to affix a red warning sticker to the first school bag. The tingling in Milo's fingers grew stronger. He knew that this tornado was no coincidence. It was the beginning of a whole new kind of order, and it was going to be uncomfortable. Milo reached for his satchel, knowing that they now needed more than just a good plan. In the distance, the whisper meter crackled as if it had just received a secret message. The first school bag tornado was over, but the real storm was still brewing. Milo looked at Fina and they both knew: the hunt for the windmaker was on.
Chapter 2 – Turbo catches a notebook with his face
