Clock boy was offered a scholarship at a prestigious school in Qatar and that’s why they left Irvine. Maybe they kicked him out after they found out he doesn’t really know how to make a clock and they need the money to come back.
I think it would be funny if clock boy would show us the web-site he used to help him make a suitcase clock. Maybe the recipe called for a pressure cooker but all he had was a suitcase.