09x03 - Secrets and Thighs

[bunniefuu]

[theme music playing]

[Jamie] This is the true story...

[Matt] ...of seven strangers...

[Melissa] ...picked to live in a mansion...

[Kelley] ...work together...

[Danny] ...and have their lives taped.

[David] To find out what happens...

[Julie] ...when people stop being polite...

[Jamie] ...and start getting real.

-The Real World...
-[Julie] ...New Orleans!

[theme music concludes]

[funky music playing]

So, at the grocery store,
did you put condoms on the list,

-Mr. Lover Man?
-[chuckles] No.

Shabba.

With David, that connection is immediate.

-[chuckles]
-Touch me, please, then slobber.

The connection that I have with him
based solely on being a minority.

-Got your beeper?
-[David] Yeah, I got it, man.

[Melissa] Okay,
your job is to call the cab. [chuckles]

[David] Thank you for giving me light.

[funky music continues]

[Melissa] I just fall in love quickly
and get crushes really bad.

-[David] I can be faithful. I could.
-Hmm.

Melissa's a... a very,
you know, very exciting person,

very, very animated, very...
She is beautiful.

She reminds me of the girlfriend
that broke up with me

that started my whole metamorphosis.

And back then, like I told you, I was fat.
I'm saying that I had a little Jheri curl,

-and everything going on...
-[Melissa chuckling]

...and I was intelligent, but you know,
not like I am today, basically.

-You were on the Nutty Professor II.
-Right, okay, word.

That's... That's love.

She is beautiful.

She is, you know,
a... a lot of things that Grace was,

and I didn't know how to feel about that.

-I don't ever wanna see her again.
-[Melissa] Mm-hmm.

I thought we were gonna have a problem.

You just gonna remind me
of her constantly.

And I just would probably
wanna stay away from you.

I thought I was gonna have
a problem with that.

Well, good, I'm glad
that that worked out because,

you know, being the two brown folks
in the house,

I wasn't gonna have you be nasty to me.

[upbeat music playing]

-[Julie] My folks own a little restaurant.
-[Jamie] Oh, really?

-Yeah. What's it called?
-Yeah.

[chuckles] Okay,
you gotta understand I'm from Wisconsin,

and my parents are lunatics.
And they called it "Holy Cow."

-Holy cow!
-Yeah.

-[Jamie] So...
-[Julie] I'm a big bagel girl.

Do they have a lot of bagel joints
in Provo?

-[indistinct chatter]
-Not really. No.

I'd love to go to New York someday.
Eat a bagel in a New York coffee shop.

[Jamie] I've gotten out of Chicago
and have traveled.

Really tried to just see the world
and I think that she's doing it right now.

What's your school like?

It's kind of not cool, like,
with my school, me being here.

And so, like, part of me is, like,
"Okay, so, don't whine about it."

"Get up and go somewhere else."

I'd like to be more open.
I wanna let people into my life.

But then it's, like,
"Mom and Dad are paying for this school,

and you're already into your major
and you're almost done."

The fact that I don't necessarily
want to graduate from BYU

and marry a nice Mormon boy,
it scares them, I think.

You know, coming to New Orleans
is kinda a catalyst for a change, though.

She will definitely be a different person
after this whole thing.

[intense music playing]

Don't need any from the, uh, fermented
Kool-Aid section, do you?

-[chuckles] No.
-Know what I'm saying?

-I don't know if you drink.
-No.

-Did you... Do you drink?
-I do.

[David] You do? I don't.

[Melissa] But I try
to keep it under control...

[David] Okay.

[Melissa] ...'cause I want it
to be a non-issue while I'm here.

Because, I mean, I... I know that if I was...

Alcoholism is, like,
it's a very scary thing for me.

-[David] Mm-hmm.
-[Melissa] 'Cause my dad dealt

with it when I was younger.

-[David] Yes.
-I would like it, you know,

and I would do it to excess
and I'd just get wild.

I know how I can be when I'm drunk
and I don't like the way I feel

when I am drunk.

[Melissa] Is anybody home?

[David] I'mma start a ki...
A cooking show called Ghetto Kitchen.

[Melissa] Oh, in the ghetto kitchen,

you don't even have
to turn the stove on. [chuckles]

-It's on, man! It's... [chuckles]
-[chuckles]

[David] I grew up
on the South Side of Chicago.

If anyone knows about Chicago,
it has its spots

as well as every... every place does.

[Melissa] Now, in the ghetto kitchen
we use our hands as measuring cups.

-Right here, this about a quarter cup.
-[David chuckles] Right, right.

-That's about a quarter cup. [chuckles]
-About a quarter. That's all we need.

[Melissa] He and I, so far,
have joked so much

about things that are ghetto,

although I have no understanding
what it is to be poor,

and what it is to struggle,
what it is to have one parent.

No, you're gonna dump that out
'cause this rice is dirty.

Why would you buy some dirty rice?

-That's ghetto.
-[Melissa] It ain't been cleaned

-since it came from wherever.
-See, that's ghetto. That's ghetto.

I feel like I connect to him
on some weird level.

Like, I think he's gonna be there for me.

[upbeat music playing]

I wanna know who you prefer racially.
That's what I want to know.

I really don't prefer, you know?
If you look good, you look good.

Well, I have tried to date Black guys...

-Right, right.
-...and I'm not Black enough.

-So, my experiences with dating Black men...
-[David] Right.

...have been very poor and sour
and I don't like justifying

my Blackness to anybody,
so I just date White guys.

So, even if I did approach you,
and gave you attention,

I'm saying I wanna hook up with you,
you got all these issues with Black guys?

What the hell?
I'm not gonna get to square one.

She's scared of having a brother.
That's the problem.

'Cause if you're gonna like me for me
then you need to know that I'm half Black

-because it's a very big part of who I am.
-[David] Mm-hmm.

Like, if I were to walk around
denying my father,

I would feel, like, a world of guilt.

[David] She is... she is beautiful.

If I had the chance, you know,
I'd... I'd capitalize on it.

[Melissa] Do you even wanna get... hook up?

With you?

[Melissa] I think that you need
a lot of attention

but you won't give it
as much as you need it.

[David] There's another ironic.
You know what I'm saying?

-You want attention, you know...
-I don't... No, but see, though,

I want attention
from everyone in this house.

-I have to be the star.
-[David] I feel that.

[upbeat music playing]

[Matt] My family is awesome.

It's beautiful. You know what I mean?
It's, like, totally rad.

I am who I am in the context of my family.
You know what I mean?

It's like I'm part of a team.

My parents were absent
because they were working.

-None of us...
-[Danny] Exactly.

I didn't get much attention
'cause my parents were always working.

Right. And that... that so shapes why I am,
like, always in need of attention.

[pensive music playing]

You grew up in a network of people
where you were told it's okay...

-Mm-hmm.
-[Melissa] ...to feel sad.

It's okay to feel whatever.

I grew up understanding that,
"If... if you have something to b*tch

and complain about, keep it to yourself
because I have my own problems."

All I have for my parents is respect.

You know,
I didn't... I didn't have nice things,

and I didn't... My parents weren't
at my PTA meetings.

Like, I... [sniffs]
...I would have school plays,

and they would not be out there.

-[Matt] Mm-hmm.
-And I'd get a ride

with the kid across the street 'cause,
you know, they didn't care.

-I love my parents to no end.
-[traffic rumbling]

But, anyway... [sniffs]
...like, the whole... I'm just upset,

'cause I... I'm, like,
homesick or something.

Like, I didn't... [sobs] I know.

I'm just really unhappy and... [sniffs]
...because I shouldn't feel this way.

I shouldn't be... [sniffs]
...crying like I'm a baby.

Like, I don't know what's wrong with me.

Maybe I'm overly sensitive
and I really, really miss home.

I miss my... my mom and dad,
and my brother and my sister.

This is just one day.
[sniffs] It's just today.

You're not gonna feel this way tomorrow.
You're gonna be fine tomorrow.

[sobs] You're gonna be fine tomorrow.
You're gonna be fine tomorrow. [sniffs]

[upbeat music playing]

Well, I think that I'm just
having a pity party for myself.

I'm just feeling sorry for myself
because, like, I don't have White girls

as friends at home.

You don't feel really different
in the house?

Do I feel different? I feel different
'cause I'm in a different place,

but as far as me,
I brought all me with me. What...

[Melissa] I feel like I am the Brown girl.

No one else in the house
has an understanding

of what it is to be biracial.

I mean, you have to know how I feel.

I can hang out
with all the guys, that's fine,

and I can hang out with the girls too,
but I walk in the house,

-I see two blonde girls.
-[David chuckles]

You know? I don't get along
with girls in the first place.

I'm actually, you know,
seeing her open up, in a sense,

you know,
and actually talk about something

that actually has substance to it.

Yesterday, I was like...

"Thank God David's in the house."

Hey, I'm glad that you're glad I'm here.

I'm thinking that myself and Melissa
will probably hook up simply

because we're both...
We talk very, uh, directly.

You'll be more authentic

so to speak,
as far as you'll really be feeling good

because I don't have a bad time.
I have a good time.

-[upbeat rock music playing]
-Whoo! [chuckles]

[pants] So, tell me if this is a g*y myth

-that I just need to be resolved of.
-[chuckles]

Are you really interested in decorating,

-and architecture and art...
-[pants]

...and all that kind of stuff?

-Or is that, like, just 'cause you are?
-[pants] I do like architecture, though.

Like, are you into
interior design and stuff?

-No.
-No?

[Danny] Just because I'm g*y...

[Julie] I'll tell you straight up,
I don't understand it.

Does it weird you out?

I don't know if it weirds me out
as much as, like, it doesn't seem natural

just because I don't see it
in other aspects of...

Like, I don't see g*y bunnies
running around, you know what I mean?

When I first started getting into it,
it didn't make sense to me either.

But it's just because all you ever see
on TV and society, people, whatever,

-is a man and a woman, you know?
-Okay, I just gotta ask you something.

-[Danny chuckles]
-Like, even, like a two-year-old

can put a puzzle together... [chuckles]
...and I just don't see, like, how...

You gonna ask
what I think you're gonna ask me?

[Julie] Never mind.
I'm not gonna talk about it.

-I gotta go. [laughs]
-[Danny] Ask me. You gotta.

No, I... I just...

[Danny] What I wanna ask you
is do you think it's wrong?

For me, it's absolutely morally wrong
because I have morals

that don't encompass that

-in any way, shape or form.
-[Danny] Yeah.

-But... but I... I st... I love you.
-[laughs]

-[engine rumbling]
-[intense music playing]

I feel weird in this house.
I feel like the odd man out all the time.

There's three girls, including me,
and four boys and everyone's, like...

the beautiful people. Yeah, it's weird.

I was expecting to come in here
and deal with some [bleep] or something

but everyone's really cool so far.

It's just a normal thing.
I feel weird everywhere I go.

[indistinct chatter]

[Melissa] I had a bad day.

To end that bad day,
I'm gonna have a good night.

If it involves having a few drinks, fine.

I'm not hurting anyone.

Is somebody gonna go to the bar again?

-'Cause I want a screwdriver again.
-[Matt] She says, "I had a bad day."

"I'm gonna get drunk."

She's not dealing
with the issue by escaping.

[Melissa] Matt's gonna walk around
with Julie,

but I need to make sure
that I'm with someone all night

'cause I've already had two drinks
and here goes number three.

-[Danny] You're not going home.
-No, she's saying she just...

But I just wanna make sure
that someone is gonna be responsible.

You should be responsible.

-I want you to have a good time tonight...
-[chuckles]

...because I care about who you are
and I care about this raccoon

on your back. I do.

[David] Matt and I don't drink, you know?

Alcohol? Don't understand it.

Why do you have to have it
to have a good time?

-Okay. You have a nice night.
-All right, awesome.

-Have a good evening. Julie...
-I'll catch y'all later.

I don't go from one bar to the next.
I just think it's stupid.

But you gotta understand Melissa though.

She's very sensitive
and you wouldn't think that

because she's so brash.

I never imagined someone...
These people have such sensitivities

because of their background and stuff.

[upbeat music playing]

We need to go someplace where I can
get another drink and chill.

-[upbeat music playing]
-[crowd cheering]

[David] She's getting buck-wild.
And I tried to play it off.

You know, I'm going...
I'm... I'm dancing with her

a little bit, you know.

I'm... I'm getting freaky with her,
but I'm not feeling it.

I'm not feeling it.
I'm sitting there, dancing.

I'm thinking to myself,
"I'm not feeling this at all."

-"I'm... I'm just gonna leave."
-[indistinct chatter]

What is this? Is this naked ladies?

-I can do that. That's so easy.
-[men cheering]

How much would it... Would I get paid,
say, if I were to take off my top?

-Yeah, we can go in. Okay.
-[Melissa] Oh, we wanna come in.

I... I'm going to do this dance.

-That's ironic. [chuckles]
-You watch me get up there.

[Jamie] Melissa, when she's had
a couple screwdrivers,

so, if she wants to strip,
she's gonna strip.

-I'm gonna do this.
-Strip!

-Now... Will I get tips?
-This... Hey, look.

The ladies there offered
to let me change into one of their outfits

and get up on stage,
and do the pole and whatnot.

-I've never done this!
-This is the dressing room.

[woman] It's okay,
I'm just gonna get you on the way.

[Melissa] I never done this before.

[Julie] Oh, my God,
she's gonna strip. [chuckling]

[upbeat techno music playing]

[Julie] Oh, my goodness...

-[crowd cheering]
-[patron 1] Shake it!

-[laughs]
-[laughs]

[patron 2] Do I kiss her? I don't know...

-[laughs]
-[crowd laughing]

[Melissa] I get a rush out
of watching them hold their tummies,

and crack up over what I'm doing.

[men laughing]

My cheeks, like, my whole face hurt
because I was laughing so hard.

[patron 3] Oh, my God, man. [whistles]

[Jamie] She knows
how to work it completely.

So, there is definitely something
very sexy about that.

-[crowd cheering, applauding]
-[chuckles]

[Danny] Everything that happens almost
makes me think the entire time here

in New Orleans is gonna be insane.

-[Jamie] They had dollar bills on them.
-It was ridiculous.

It was funny.
It wasn't sexual. It was funny.

It was very good.

She was on the stage, swimming,
swimming across the stage.

[Melissa] And then we went
to this g*y bar.

So, there are some community condoms
for the whole house.

-[techno music playing]
-[Julie] Don't put it on my fruit!

-No, either you want pears...
-[Julie chuckles]

-...or you want condoms.
-Or oranges. Or you want condoms.

-I mean, all of it is sugarless.
-[Julie] Don't touch my fruits.

And that's just something
that does not happen in Provo,

seeing a bowl full
of apples and oranges and condoms.

-[Matt] Is David sleeping?
-[Melissa] Is he mad at me?

[Julie] Just concerned.

We thought you were gonna come home
sloppy junk... drunk, honestly.

[somber music playing]

Okay. I left because I saw enough.

You didn't even have to tell me
about what you did afterwards

-for me to have had enough.
-[Melissa] I didn't do anything.

Maybe I... I'm caring too much
but do not talk to me beforehand

and make it seem
as if I can make a difference

-when all you're gonna do is drink.
-But yeah, I won't lie.

Today, I had a bad day,
and yeah, I wanted a drink.

If your number one escape
is gonna be alcohol

then let that be your escape,
but don't look for me when that fails you.

-That's just love.
-I know, but now what you're saying is

anytime I have a problem
instead of drinking, talk to you first?

-No. I am gonna drink if I wanna drink.
-Then you do that.

[Melissa] That is my life.
That is my choice.

Then you do that.
Just don't expect me to be there.

Now, I don't take second seat
to anything, especially alcohol.

I guess you don't know
the type of person I am, okay?

It takes a lot for me to extend my hand.

For me to do that takes so much energy
and takes so much caring on my part...

For her to turn to that, "I'm gonna drink
instead of taking your hand,"

that insulted me.

What you're doing is
giving me an ultimatum.

"Either you come to me with your problems

-or you go drink. I'm not gonna be..."
-[sighs]

-"...I'm not gonna be there for you."
-No. Just...

I think it'd be easier if you don't extend
your hand to me because...

-Cool, cool.
-You're just... You're very upset over it,

and I don't understand at all why.

What didn't you understand
about what I explained?

It's yes or no. Are you mad...

-I'm not saying yes or no...
-...because I drink?

...because it's not cut-and-dry.

What the hell was this conversation about?

-Why are you upset?
-[David] You know what?

I'll take the whole thing
so we can get this over with.

It's all my fault.

-I have no clue what I'm doing.
-Okay, great.

[David] Great. Buh-bye.

As long as you acknowledge
it's your fault,

I'm fine, because I don't think
I'm in the wrong at all.

[David] Yeah, go ahead. That's right.

[Melissa] And don't talk to me
for the next five months.

[David] Girl, I don't give a damn.
Who the hell you are. 'Sup?

-[upbeat music playing]
-♪ Yeah ♪

-It's so hot.
-All right, Danny, good night.

-[laughs]
-Good night, baby.

Seriously, Danny,
if you turn to the flip side

I'm... I'm gonna know not...not what to do.

I'll be, like, laying here,
and I'll be, like, "Oh, my gosh."

-"Get me out of this room." [laughs]
-[laughs]

I'm just sitting back
and taking everything in.

It's so new that I decided early
that I couldn't pass judgment right away.

Why do they say,
"Coming out of the closet"?

Like, are you in a closet? No.

[Danny] You put things in the closet
that you want to hide away.

Why couldn't they stick
another freaking g*y guy in here?

[Kelley] I'm glad they didn't.

-[Danny] Why?
-'Cause we'd never see you.

[all laughing]

He really is in the closet,
with his friend.

[all laughing]

[Julie] Before I came here,
I did not think

that there would ever be
any connection between me

and a... a... a g*y person,
but in meeting Danny,

I just totally realized that's ridiculous.

I guess I'm not really cool
with the way you, like,

-are choosing to live your life.
-I didn't "choose" it, you know?

If I could be straight,
I mean, that'd be so nice.

My life would be so easy.
Who in their right mind would choose this?

Because it is not an easy life.

-[intense music playing]
-[birds chirping]

[Melissa] He spent the next day
ignoring the whole house

because he was walking around
with this anger with me.

Are you focusing or are you ignoring me?

No, I'm not ignoring you.
I realize you're sitting there.

And you told me not to talk to you
for five months and I do what I'm told.

You know what I'm saying?

The way I cut someone off,

if you do me wrong,
this person doesn't exist.

Your mind doesn't exist,
your soul, emotions, whatever.

You just not there.

-You're completely shutting me off...
-[David clears throat]

...and it's really, really unfair.

I'm the type of person, look,
hey, I can... I can click you off like that

because David will be David tomorrow.

So, if you say something like,
"I don't wanna talk to you

-for five months," done.
-I am sorry I offended you.

I'm sorry that I said,
"Please don't talk to me

for five and a half months."
I didn't mean that.

I wanna talk to you
for the next five and a half months. I do.

I really genuinely like you.

I did not mean to hurt you
when I said that.

I'm really, really sorry.
I don't know what else to tell you.

I just want you to accept my apology.
That's all I want.

I don't wanna have tension between us.

I really, really like you,
I didn't mean to hurt you.

I didn't know how sensitive you were.

[David] When she started to cry,
that wall that I was building

was slowly crumbling down.

-Hey.
-I didn't mean it when I said,

"Please, don't talk to me for..."

-Do you understand that I didn't mean it?
-[David] Yes. Come here.

[Melissa] I didn't feel like I needed
to apologize to him because I drank.

I apologized to smooth things over
so the whole house

can live comfortably with him.
That's something that I need.

I need that in the house.

[intense music concludes]

[Melissa] "Melissa, come talk to Dad."

Well, this is how he read it on the phone.

"Melissa, I love you more..."
and I could just see him concentrating

with his big, old temples flaring,
"More than words can say,

even though sometimes, we disagree."

-[laughs]
-[Melissa] "Everyone says you act like me,

two trains passing in the night,
both of them without a light."

-"But who would be the first to tell..."
-[chuckles]

[Melissa] "...because sometimes,
we act like we're from hell."

[all laughing]

"Melissa, I love you so,
but sometimes, it's hard to show."

"Is it because we are alike
or is it 'cause one of us

can't party all night?"

[all laughing]

"You are my youngest." I'm the middle one.

[laughs]

[Melissa] "Let others hear your voice
and see your deeds,

and they will know
that you are the daughter of Shorty."

[all laughing]