Bahala na, Excel.
-- Maxima (chapter 2)

Importance: "Bahala na" is a Tagalog phrase that translates roughly to "Oh well. don't worry. That's life. Fuck it" (21). Maxima utters this phrase frequently, reflecting her defeatist attitude towards the realities of her situation, especially in regards to Excel. She frequently responds with "Bahala na" in response to an apology or an offer from her son, hurt by his nine-month silence while he was in Hello City. Despite their tenacity and determination to survive, Excel and Maxima are often fatalistic and resigned about their hardships. They accept these hardships as inevitabilities of being poor and TNT, without many options to have a better life. By the novel's end, both begin to abandon this defeatist philosophy, creating better lives for themselves by helping others and caring for their family.

Where else would we go?
-- Sab (chapter 3)

Importance: From the beginning of their relationship, Sab and Excel bonded over their pessimism about their...