Buliding & Breaking
The Real World - New Orleans

DESCRIPTION

Lady Gaga fever is hitting New Orleans hard as Ashlee, Sahar and Preston dress up to attend a theme party. But when Knight sees Preston in a drag, the testosterone fueled Hockey Boy fires insults left and right. The next day, the roommates take the Katrina Tour and see just how much of New Orleans was devastated and how much needs to be rebuilt. Wanting to give back, McKenzie asks the roommates to help her build a house with Habitat for Humanity. All the roommates are eager to help... except for Ryan, a true giver, who thinks he'd be better suited helping the victims of Katrina by doing hair. When Sahar begins to feel the love pangs pulling at her heartstrings, she calls home to find out that Pablo hooked up with another girl. Being in an open relationship, they both enjoyed their right to hook up with other people, but with Pablo so far away and jealousy setting in, Sahar is beginning to rethink her decision. After a successful day working with Habitat for Humanity, the roommates go out to celebrate. Knight begins to see McKenzie in a different light, perhaps it's her bright, shining compassion, and thinks maybe she, not Jemmye, is the girl for him. But while McKenzie is willing to indulge Knight in some harmless flirting, she draws the line at that. With Knight putting the moves on McKenzie and McKenzie playing hard to get, Jemmye is left watching this all unfold before her eyes, and wonders that maybe Knight isn't the trustworthy, gentleman she once thought he was. With Sahar boiling from the Pablo Situation and the McKenzie/Knight/Jemmye Triangle brewing, she tells Knight he's being disrespectful. Taking no prisoners, Knight immediately goes in for the kill and rubs salt in the Pablo-inflicted wound. The next day, with Sahar still plotting his demise, Knight avoids the situation altogether by going to watch a hockey game with Preston. During their man-date, Preston opens up to Knight about the pressures he feels to be a man and how his sexuality sometimes get in the way. With his new found sensitivity, Knight returns to the house and apologizes to Sahar, who sets him straight on how he talks to people. With Knight open to suggestion, the roommates urge Jemmye to talk to him about the way he talks to and treats her. But Jemmye can't help but feel a tinge of pain from the bruises of her past relationship, and would rather avoid the topic than confront it. When Jemmye decides to volunteer at a battered women's shelter she realizes that while her situation is over, she still hasn't dealt with it, and decides that she must confront Knight.