“Then it’s settled—we’ll invite you guys once a month. Javi can finally have the dinner parties of his dreams,” Brady said.
“I already have the next theme figured out,” I said.
“It better match up with my cooking,” Aunt Nancy said, winking.
“I have one question for you,” Mr. Bottom asked Brady as Mozart came back to the table.
“Shoot.”
“If you could invite any three people to dinner, living or dead, who would they be?”
“DON’T START THAT AGAIN!” Wiki yelled and rang the bell.
With a poof! some of the guests vanished.
“Wiki!” Brady groaned. “We haven’t even had dessert!”
Wiki pointed to the front door. Dad was opening it, his mouth open wide when he saw the dining room all decked out. Mom was behind him, eyes wider than his mouth. They’d just come back from the airport.
“What in blue blazes is going on here?” he asked, probably a tad confused that Wiki’s aunt and our teachers were dining with us at a pirate ship table.
Brady shrugged. “School assignment. Want some mofongo?”
Wiki’s Pedia
Extra intel on our visitors from Wiki’s notebooks.
Blackbeard
The most notorious pirate ever, Edward Teach commanded a crew of hundreds as he wreaked havoc around the West Indies and along the coast of Britain’s North American colonies. In 1717 he converted a captured French vessel into Queen Anne’s Revenge, his legendary forty-gun warship. From there he terrorized what would later become the United States, capturing ships, stealing cargo, and blockading ports. Blackbeard rejected the use of violence but was a master at intimidation, wrapping slow-burning lighted coils in his hair and beard to make his face look like it was on fire. As epic as his reputation became, his reign as a dreadful pirate only lasted a couple of years. He was violently killed in 1718 by Robert Maynard, who mounted his head on the bowsprit of his ship to tell the world that Blackbeard had been defeated.
Anansi (Aunt Nancy)
Anansi the spider is one of the most important characters in African, African American, and Caribbean folklore. Anansi is a trickster who uses cleverness or secret knowledge to fool people into doing what she wants. Often it’s important things like creating the sun, moon, stars, and planets; gifting humans all the stories in the world; or bringing writing, agriculture, and hunting to Earth. Stories of Anansi began in western Africa, but the slave trade brought those stories to the Caribbean and the United States. In the US, Anansi’s named changed to Aunt Nancy. (So she has the same name as my aunt. It’s just a coincidence. Let’s not be ridiculous.)
Captain Ahab
The fanatical captain of the whaling ship Pequod, Ahab dedicates his life to finding and destroying Moby Dick, the white whale that bit off his leg. On his final mission he hires a crew by fooling them into thinking they’re going on a typical whaling expedition. Once at sea, he reveals his true purpose, forcing them to join his quest for revenge and offering a golden doubloon to whoever spots Moby Dick. When a crewmember finally sees the white whale, they go on a disastrous three-day chase that ends with a tragic battle. Ahab gets tangled up in his harpoon line, falls overboard, and gets dragged into the depths by Moby Dick, drowning. His story is told in Herman Melville’s novel Moby Dick.
Frida Kahlo
Born Magdalena Carmen Frieda Kahlo y Calderón, Mexican painter Frida Kahlo became one of the most famous artists of the past century and a feminist icon whose popularity keeps growing. Kahlo got polio when she was six, which damaged her right leg and gave her a limp. When she was eighteen, Kahlo suffered a horrible bus accident that caused her chronic pain and medical problems for the rest of her life. Despite all of these setbacks, Kahlo became a beloved artist best known for her colorful, imaginative self-portraits that were inspired by her emotional and physical struggles.
Dorothy Gale
Dorothy Gale is the main character of L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and many other Oz books. She lives on a farm with her uncle and aunt when a tornado sweeps their house to the magical land of Oz. Just about everyone’s read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz or seen the movie The Wizard of Oz, but L. Frank Baum wrote thirteen more Oz books, and other authors wrote dozens more, so Dorothy has far more adventures than taking on the Wicked Witch of the West. Dorothy eventually moves to Oz permanently, living in an apartment in Queen Ozma’s palace.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
The main character of Robert Louis Stevenson’s book The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Dr. Henry Jekyll is a respected doctor in England who creates a potion to hide his bad side. Instead it turns him into Edward Hyde, a hideous, murderous monster. Jekyll tries controlling his alter ego, and for a while he has the upper hand, but eventually Hyde takes over, and it leads to their deaths.
Don Quixote
Alonso Quixano was a noble living in La Mancha, Spain, who read so many books about knights that he lost his mind and decided to become Don Quixote, the greatest knight ever. He dusted off an old suit of armor, pretended his old horse was the great steed Rocinante, and convinced the peasant Sancho Panza to be his squire. The two spent their days fighting windmills they thought were giants and attacking sheep herds they thought were armies. His adventures are told in the book Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, which is considered by many to be the greatest novel ever written.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
A musical genius and one of the greatest composers ever, Mozart began composing music at the age of five and performing it for royalty all over Europe. Over the next thirty years he composed more than six hundred operas, symphonies, sonatas, concertos, and choral pieces, many of which are considered the best of all time. People still play his music everywhere and anywhere. He’s a huge influence on the music we hear today.
Rosa Parks
Known as the mother of the modern-day civil rights movement in America, Rosa Parks was a lifelong activist who taught the country that Black people should be treated equally and changed the course of history. In 1955, when Black people were still segregated (meaning they had to attend different schools, use different public restrooms, and eat in different restaurants), Rosa Parks got on a bus and refused to give up her seat for a white man. The driver called the police, Rosa Parks was arrested, and it sparked a huge protest that ended when the Supreme Court ended racial segregation on public transportation. It was an important win that helped end segregation altogether.
Cleopatra
Cleopatra ruled ancient Egypt for almost three decades and is one of the most famous women who ever lived. At eighteen she and her ten-year-old brother inherited the kingdom of Egypt, but she made enemies among the courtiers, and they ended her reign, exiling her. She crossed paths with Julius Caesar, they fell in love, and he made her queen of Egypt again. When he was assassinated in Rome a few years later, his military commander Mark Antony fell in love with Cleopatra. They married, had three children, and combined their armies to take on a Roman enemy. Cleopatra spoke three languages, was well read, was quite adept at scientific advances, and a great conversationalist to boot. She was also a brilliant politician, who brought prosperity and peace to a country that was in really bad shape when she inherited it.
Hattori Hanzō
Hanzō was a legendary sixteenth-century samurai, fighting in many historic battles and helping the leader of his clan become the ruler of Japan. He was known not only for his battle prowess, but also for his political and strategic brilliance. He commanded a unit of over two hundred samurai.
Antar
Also known as Antarah ibn Shaddad, Antar lived in ancient Arabia and was equally famous for being a mighty warrior and a brilliant poet. The Black outcast son of an Arab father and an Ethiopian enslaved mother, Antar struggled to win over his father and his tribe, but gained great respect through his courage on the battlefie
ld and mastery of poetry. His greatest poem forms part of the Mu’allaqāt, one of the most important Arabic books of all time.
Acknowledgments
By this point you’ve likely asked yourself, “Who would I invite to dinner, if I could invite absolutely anyone?” This is my list, full of folks who I’m endlessly grateful to for making this book possible and for making my life significantly more wonderful.
Elana Roth Parker, my phenomenal agent, who gave this story wings.
Annie Berger, my astonishing editor, who made this book sing.
Juan Carlos, who found the magical forest that inspired this book, and then pushed me to write about it fifteen years later.
Jamie Antonisse, who unlocked Finistere.
Chris Baily, who painted while I wrote and made sure we did it daily.
Andy Marino and Jason Reynolds, who taught me what it takes to be a writer.
Ivan Askwith, whose advice and friendship kept me on this path.
Andrew Hume, Greg Babonis, Rachelle DiGregorio, Keren Albala, and Marlena Ryan, who read early drafts of this book and gave me such thoughtful crit.
Joe Prota, Taylor Piñeiro, Travis Nichols, Greg Berman, Brandt Hamilton, Peter Brauer, Marnie Thompson, Kacy Emmett, Austin Powe, Brittany Garrett, Courtney O’Donnell, Andrew Monkelban, Mike Delosreyes, Blaine Thurier, and Justin Juul, who helped with so many aspects of this book. (Hmm, I’m going to need a bigger table.)
Cassie Gutman, Jessica Rozler, Nicole Hower, David Miles, Michelle Mayhall, and the incredible Sourcebooks team, who were dream collaborators.
Fran and Jim, who read multiple drafts and were so incredibly supportive the whole way through.
Evelyn, who patiently read every draft, gave fantastic feedback, and believed in this from day one.
Julian, who graciously let me take breaks from playing trains to write this.
And most emphatically, Mami y Papi, who passed down their love of books and love of life, nurtured my imagination, and pulled that parranda prank on me once.
At this point you’re thinking, “Victor, Victor, Victor…you could just call all of those people and invite them to dinner. This table breaks the laws of time and space to summon you literally anyone you want. Who would you really invite?”
Fair enough. Walt Whitman, Julia de Burgos, and Galadriel.
Now where did I put that bell?
About the Author
Victor Piñeiro is a creative director and content strategist who’s managed @YouTube and launched @Skittles, creating its award-winning zany voice. He’s also designed games for Hasbro, written and produced a popular documentary on virtual worlds, and taught third graders. Time Villains is his first novel.
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Time Villains Series, Book 1 Page 18
