Deuce first references his mother in Book 1 when it is revealed that he was “the only man of the house”, so he would help her with the heavy lifting that resulted from when she would “stock up” during sales. Deuce references helping his mother during sales again in his PE vignette (“I can’t tell you how many times I was barreled down over a single carton of eggs”) and during New Year.
During the New Year event Deuce explains that he and his mother would “sometimes compete over which of us could get more candy in our bags. Whenever I won, she’d pretend to be frustrated and challenge me to a rematch…those were the days.”
Deuce says she would study sales flyers until they’d practically disintegrate in order to find the best deals, and they would wait for hours in the cold for limited-time sales: “Not to mention all the times we had to fight through mobs of customers just to get to the stuff on sale. The point is, it was rough going.”
Deuce signs up to work at the school store for New Year’s because there is something he wants to be able to buy but does not want to have to ask his mother for money.
We meet Deuce’s mother Dylla (pronounced similar to “Dealer” in Japanese) during the White Rabbit Fes event, where she explains that they could never afford costumes for the festival when Deuce was younger, so she would receive hand-me-downs from coworkers’ children and tailor them herself for Deuce.
Deuce tells a story of a time he once saved up his allowance as a child until he’d been able to afford a bag of potato chips, saying, “I wanted to make them last, so I ate them so slowly, just a few chips at a time.”
When every member of the VDC team (except Ace) decides to donate their money from Vil to renovating Ramshackle Dorm Deuce says, “That money would go a long way for my family. But still…”
Vil tells him that no one should donate money just because they feel pressured to, and Deuce accepts the money, instead.
Deuce says Dylla used to grow herbs for cooking, but they wilted so often that it was actually cheaper to buy them.
Twisted Wonderland Reference Note 