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It was the most lovely day outside when Andrew nearly beat the Ender Dragon. Of course, Andrew was inside when this mighty battle occurred. After all, as far as Andrew knew, there was nothing all that exciting outside. Instead, he camped out in his bedroom under a supercool, official, patented blanket fort! His own design. In order to tackle something as challenging as Minecraft on the Hard difficulty setting, Andrew needed to focus. He couldn’t just hop up and grab food whenever he wanted. A battle this big needed preparations. So beside him, Andrew set a bottle of Dr Pepper, a half-eaten tube of Sour Cream & Onion Pringles, and his laptop. Andrew nestled himself deeper between the pillows he had collected. The optimal position for victory! He needed maximum comfort, so he had grabbed every pillow around the house. Above him, string lights blinked. He had “borrowed” them from the Christmas collection in the attic. How many hours of playing on the computer had it taken to get here? How much red stone had he dug up? He knew his skeleton body count had to be in the thousands by now. And this was it. All that work had led to this moment. A moment of greatness—and serious bragging rights with his friends. Andrew’s fingers flexed over the keyboard. He felt nervous and excited at the same time! On the screen, his character, Steve, stood ready. He positioned himself closer—closer—to the end portal. The inky blackness within beckoned him to enter. For adventure! For the glorious battle! He could practically hear it luring him forward. “Andrew,” it called. “Andrew!” Wait, no. That was a real voice. From the real world! Frustrated, Andrew flipped back a corner of his blanket fort. He peered out. Mom. What was she doing at his door?! Mom was short, and heavier than she wanted to be. Something she constantly bemoaned to her family. If she wasn’t trying this new diet, then it was the other one. His mom stood in the hall, balancing a laundry basket full of dirty socks against one hip. In her other hand, she held out something. What was that? A book?! “Andrew, you’ve been on that machine ever since school let out for summer break. How about reading a book or doing something else instead?” “No thank you,” Andrew said as he lowered the corner of the blanket. With the sunlight from the windows blocked again, he reentered his world. He didn’t have time for distractions. His mom was always grabbing books for him at the library. She would set them around the house, trying to make them look inviting. They never were. A new thought crossed Andrew’s mind. Should he get more food before entering into the final battle? He thought he had enough—only he was beginning to second-guess himself. Then the portal spoke to him again. “Andrew. I’m sorry, that wasn’t a suggestion.” Hold up. Was that Mom again?! Andrew grimaced as he yanked open his blanket fort for what he knew would be the last time! “Mom, you don’t understand! Do you have any idea how long I’ve spent in Minecraft to get to this point?! Seriously, I’m not about to stop just for—” “Andrew—Andrew, I do understand how much time you’ve spent on that computer. And that’s the problem. I want you off the computer—off all screens. I want you to find something else to do.” “Alright, fine. I will. But first let me battle the Ender Dragon on the Hard difficulty setting, and then I’ll—” Mom didn’t look like she was listening anymore. Her brow wrinkled. The little creases beside her eyes got more pronounced. If Andrew had been paying attention, he would have noticed just how fast the laundry basket of dirty socks hit the floor. He had only intended to glance at his health bar, just to triple-check that it was maxed out. But Andrew did hear the sound of stomping feet. Wait, was she coming closer? Into his room?! And that’s when he saw his mom’s silhouette lean over. She reached out toward something. Hold on, was that the electrical outlet? The horror had not sunk in yet. Otherwise, Andrew was sure he would have let out a loud and piercing battle cry. Possibly more cry and less battle, but that was a point for future debate. What Andrew’s mother did grab was nothing less than . . . a power cable. And not just any random power cable. One particular cable that ran under his Superman blanket and led to the very center of his most amazing, custom, patented fort. If Andrew didn’t have the oldest-known hand-me-down laptop, his mother’s actions would have meant nothing. Only he did have a Civil War–era laptop. One whose battery had long ago been pulled and recycled. An absolute potato! So what Andrew witnessed next was a different kind of darkness on his screen. Not the black abyss of the inviting Ender portal, calling him to greatness! No. This darkness was the kind when all electrical power leaves a laptop. A true and complete darkness. Andrew gasped. “Get outside,” Mom said as her feet exited the room. “Enjoy the fresh air for once!”
