As soon as the Parrs entered the barracks, a familiar voice yelled out to them.
"Wow! You're working here, too? This is totally awesome!" said the little boy who came running up to them.
The three Incredibles recognized him as a neighbor boy who was often seen riding his tricycle on the sidewalks near their house.
"Phil?" said Violet. "What are you doing here?"
"The neighborhood got soooo boring after your house burned up and you moved away," Phil said. "Your Dad used to do awesome things like lift the car above his head when he got mad. Now nothing like that happens anymore. I got bored and ran away. The guy who runs this place lets kids work here if they keep it a secret. Isn't that neat?"
"I guess that's one way to look at it," said Violet glumly.
"I always look at the bright side," said Phil. "That's what Mom always says."
"What's it like working here?" Dash asked.
"Super! We get to work with giant saws, log pinchers, and stamping machines," said Phil.
Several adult workers came forward to greet the newcomers.
"I'm not too crazy about our new manager," said one worker. "He came in a month ago and promised he'd help us cut our cost of living. Now he's paying us with discount coupons."
"Grooge!" said Jack-Jack, which meant, "That's a miserly thing to do."
"That's not the worst thing," said another worker. "Foreman Dubcutondy is a real mean guy. He just started here this morning and we all hate him already."
"Maybe after we get to know him we'll get on his good side," said Phil.
"He doesn't have a good side," said another worker.
"Where is he?" said Violet nervously.
"He's gone home for the night. He'll be back early in the morning to get us started," said the first worker. "Tomorrow's a log day."
All the workers groaned except Phil.
A worker in a cook's apron came out from the back room. "Stew's on!"
"C'mon kids," said the first worker. "Better eat up so you'll have energy for tomorrow. It's tough work for little ones like you."
"We can do it!" Dash boasted.
"Remember we can't be too obvious with our powers, Dash," Violet whispered.
The children devoured their portions of the first solid meal they'd had in quite a while. The stew was lumpy, but it was far better than the cold cucumber soup they had last had for dinner.
Soon after dinner the barracks turned out the lights and everyone went to bed. Exhausted though they were, it wasn't easy for the Parrs to sleep that night. Worry about the job, fear for the future, and anxiety about whether Syndrome had lied in calling them orphans kept them up late. But finally after midnight they all fell asleep.