The Voice Key: Game Boss is My Dad

Ethan hunched over in his gaming chair, his knight on screen raising a golden shield. Every Sunday at exactly 11:15 AM, the knocking would come. He flinched, causing the shield to tilt just enough for an enemy magic arrow to pierce his character's chest.

"Forgot your keys again?" He yanked the door open. His father Dave stood there holding a steaming pizza box, snowflakes dusting his suit jacket. This scene had repeated seventeen times—each time perfectly synchronized with Ethan's ranked match attempts.

The slamming door was his least favorite sound in reality. Every interrupted gaming session left new cracks in his keyboard. This time, he accidentally knocked over a can of soda onto the carpet.

One day after a delivery, Dave pushed a package toward his son. "This smart lock has a camera and voice control—just say the command to open." Ethan glanced at the box and snorted. "Pointless."

The following weekend, when knocking came again, Ethan checked his phone's door camera feed. Calmly, he said, "Alexa, open front door." For the first time, he didn't have to get up. His character charged uninterrupted up the leaderboards, finally claiming the top spot.

Changes loaded slowly, like a game progress bar. Ethan started tossing empty soda cans into the recycling bin. The fridge note changed from "Don't touch my snacks" to "Got you blueberry cereal." The new lock's 10,000mAh battery with USB-C charging meant no more frequent battery changes.

On Christmas Eve, Dave arrived with pizza. Just as he reached to enter the passcode, the door swung open from inside. Ethan wore pixel-patterned holiday scarf, the TV paused on a co-op mission screen. "This boss needs spell interrupts," he tossed his father a controller. "You handle crowd control."