The Real World

Julie and David, the first two roommates to arrive at Belfort Mansion in New Orleans, enthusiastically explore their new home. Matt and Kelley arrive and are greeted by Julie, David, and their house pet, ""Shorty."" On the way to Belfort Mansion, Melissa reveals to Danny her preference for male roommates. Danny tells Melissa that he has a ""secret."" Jamie arrives and the seven roommates enjoy an authentic Cajun dinner together, during which Julie reveals that she is a Mormon. Danny cautiously begins to reveal to his roommates his sexual preference and his new relationship with a member of the military. Julie's strict Mormon upbringing already clashes with the environment and the social situations she will experience over the next five months. « read less

David and Melissa form a flirtatious friendship based on similarities in race and personality. Melissa reveals to her roommates feelings of sadness and regret over the fact that her parents were not involved in her life while growing up. Julie admits to Danny that although his sexual preference doesn't fit in with her moral standards, she still loves and accepts him as a friend. After having a bad day, Melissa goes out with the roommates and gets drunk, causing David to go home early. Meanwhile, Melissa performs a comical strip tease at a local strip club while Danny, Kelley, and Jamie laugh hysterically. David explains to Melissa that he will not be there for her if she chooses alcohol as an escape. She replies, ""Fine, then don't talk to me for the next five months."" After getting the silent treatment from David, Melissa tearfully begs him for forgiveness, causing him to give in and make up with her. « read less

As Kelley and Melissa become friends, they realize that they have a common interest--Jamie. Jamie admits that although he is attracted to both Kelley and Melissa, he doesn't feel that a physical element is needed in his relationships with his roommates at this point in time. Kelley's focus moves away from Jamie when she meets a very attractive medical student named Peter while out on the town with her roommates. Jamie and Melissa start spending a lot of time together just as friends, which is a new experience for Jamie. Kelley invites Peter to attend a drag queen performance that she, along with Melissa and Julie, will be participating in during a Chinese New Year celebration. Things heat up as Melissa and Jamie take a friendly bubble bath together. « read less

While working at a French Quarter bar Danny meets new friends and is tempted to cheat on Paul. Kelley wants to be Peter's Valentine, but he already has a girlfriend. Having been away from Paul for some time, Danny is feeling the temptation from other men in New Orleans and in particular, a guy named Wes. Danny struggles with his love for Paul and his attraction to other men, wondering if he can remain faithful. Paul decides to surprise Danny on Valentine's Day by showing up in New Orleans. After the visit, Danny's feelings for Paul are reaffirmed and he decides he doesn't want to lose Paul. Meanwhile, Kelley's relationship with Paul begins to strengthen. Peter breaks off the relationship with his girlfriend in order to pursue a new relationship with Kelley. He takes her out for a romantic dinner and afterwards, she spends the night at his place. Julie continues to flirt with Matt, who, up to this point, seems oblivious to her advances. They both recognize, however, that they are having « read less

Four of Jamie's best friends come to New Orleans for a visit. Melissa and David try to explain to Julie the differences in racial terminology. Julie gets emotional as she explains to Melissa how she feels cheated as a result of her sheltered upbringing. During a boating trip with Julie, Jamie, and Jamie's friends, Melissa gets upset when the tour guide uses a racial term to describe a bird. Julie and Melissa argue over the issue of ignorance towards minorities. Melissa explains to Jamie why it hurt her when he didn't understand how upset she was by the boating incident. « read less

Matt explains to Kelley that he is very picky about girls and will hold out until he finds the ideal girlfriend. Melissa's time in the house causes her to do a lot of thinking about issues from her past, as well as consider the possibility of leaving the house. Matt invites a girl named Kelley over to the house for a tour. Melissa and Julie get into a fight when Julie accuses Melissa of not respecting her Mormon beliefs. Matt decides to spend time hanging out with Kelley as a friend to get to know her before asking her out on a date. Melissa makes an appointment with a therapist to get help with the overwhelming issues that she is trying to deal with. « read less

The roommates are ecstatic when they find out that they will be spending their vacation in South Africa. It is becoming apparent that there is a wall growing between David and the rest of the roommates. Melissa is frustrated that David won't put aside their differences to share the experience of being in Africa together. The group is taken on an outing that requires them to descend down a 100-meter cliff while connected to a rope. Melissa is particularly affected by this trip as she gains a new appreciation for nature and its effect on her spirituality. Jamie, Julie and Melissa agree that they should approach David as a group and try to help him break down his walls in order for him to get the most out of his experience in New Orleans. « read less

Danny's parents and siblings arrive in New Orleans to visit Danny and to meet his boyfriend Paul for the first time. Jamie is producing the next TV show, which will focus on African music and its influence on society and other genres of music. Although Danny's father knows about his son's sexual preference, he doesn't figure out that Paul is Danny's boyfriend. Kelley and Danny are annoyed that Jamie is only motivated about the show when he is the producer. Danny confronts Matt about his Catholic belief that homosexuality is wrong. « read less

Julie is apprehensive about her family's upcoming visit because of the strained relationship between her and her father. Matt goes on an official ""Mullet Hunt"" as a special feature for their next show. Danny is frustrated with the attitudes of Julie's brother and his friends towards the gay community. Julie's father questions her on her experience in New Orleans and her plans for the future. The show Julie produces ends up being a big hit. Julie knows she is in trouble when she is late meeting her parents at church because she stayed out all night at a rave. « read less

Jamie decides that he needs to take a break from constant partying in order to focus on his spirituality. There is a definite spark between Julie and Jamie as they discuss issues such as Jamie's kissing abilities. A mud-wrestling match between Julie and Jamie adds to the sexual tension between them. Later that evening, Julie and Jamie find themselves in a position where they end up kissing. Melissa takes up painting, which has an extremely positive effect on her mental well-being. Jamie realizes that he is drawn towards Julie because of the new level of spirituality he's exposed to from hanging out with her. « read less

When Julie brings her new friend Jacob by the house to meet the roommates, Matt makes a rude comment towards him, which annoys Julie. Despite Julie's protest, David makes plans to host a hot tub party to which he will only invite female strippers. Julie decides to write Matt a long letter explaining why she is upset with him and why she feels that their friendship is strained.After Matt expresses a genuine interest in going with David to an important recording studio session to be a supportive friend, David ends up leaving the house without him. Completely fed up with David's rudeness, the roommates decide to call a house meeting to discuss their issues with him. « read less

Before Matt leaves New Orleans for good, Julie requests a kiss. Matt actually agrees and he pecks her on the lips before speeding away in his car. While Julie's struggle with Matt is going on, so is her struggle with her religion and her beliefs. She knows that she has learned a lot and has grown as a person. Her friend from the coffee shop, also named Matt, stops by with an article from Newsweek that is about a Mormon boy who killed himself because he was gay. After reading it and getting sick to her stomach, she realizes that this article just reaffirms her disagreement with some of her religious beliefs. Jamie narrates to his mother what everyone is going to be doing after they leave New Orleans; Kelley is staying in New Orleans with Peter, Danny is going home to his boyfriend, Melissa is moving to Los Angeles, David is going back home to his mother, Julie has another year at BYU and Matt also has another year at Georgia Tech. During the final scenes, each cast member reflects on wh « read less