Don't know where you left off. The last you see of her is in the lecture hall where Forrester gives his speech. The movie leaves a "?" as to how Jamal and Claire end up.
" Three can keep a secret... if two are dead "
This.
"I'm the ultimate badass,you do NOT wanna f-ck wit me!"Hudson,Aliens😬
This bothered my husband, too. But they were really never more than just friends. Her father had given him enough brush-back pitches that he knew where he stood. The end of their "relationship" was when Jamal said, "Ask your father."
They still went to the same school, and her father was still making sure things never went beyond where they were.
When evil is viewed as good, righteousness is viewed as evil.
You are probably ultimately right in terms of where the relationship would end up mostly because Jamal *was* poor and is black.
But I think it was left open much more than you are alluding to here ...
I think Jamal has enough unique things going for him where Claire and maybe her wealthy family would come around (e.g. his writing skills, basketball skills, being a seemingly good human being, college recruitment, inheritance of Forrester's estate, etc.)
By the end of the movie Jamal was a real catch