Another snowy day, another dollar at Michael's. Nothing especially exciting happened to Gaara today. In the break room, he had his usual chat with Matsuri.

"How's it going?" asked Matsuri.

"Okay, I suppose."

"That's all?"

"Yep, that's all."

"Did you do anything fun last night?"

"I went out to a movie with friends."

"Aw cool! What movie?"

"It's the new Nabari no Ou movie. I don't know if…"

Matsuri nearly jumped out of her seat as her eyes widened. "Wait…did you say NABARI NO OU!?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Ohmigosh, that is only one of my favorite anime series of all time! I've been waiting to see that movie for like, forever!"

Gaara smiled. "You should definitely see it!"

"Oh, I am definitely gonna ask my boyfriend to take me to see it!"

Gaara tried his best not to cringe when he heard the word "boyfriend", which only reminded him of last night's fiasco. Nevertheless, as much as he enjoyed Matsuri's company, he respected her right to love whoever she wanted.

"I'm sure he'll enjoy it too!" said Gaara. "Is he an anime fan?"

"Well, not really," replied Matsuri. "I mean, he does watch Attack on Titan, and he was really big into Pokémon and Dragon Ball, but that's about it."

"If that's the case, I highly recommend that he binge-watch the show first, otherwise he won't enjoy the movie as much."

"OK, I'll let him know!"

As Gaara was leaving, he hummed "Die By the Sword" to himself.

"Hey!"

Gaara kept walking.

"Hey, Gaara!"

Gaara turned around and saw Matsuri walking towards him quickly.

"Yes?" said Gaara.

"I just wanted to wish you a good day!" said Matsuri.

"Oh, thank you. Have a good day!"

Gaara waved at Matsuri and attempted to proceed to his GTO when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to face Matsuri, who was smiling.

"Come on, bring it on in!" said Matsuri.

Not wanting to disappoint her, Gaara approached her and took in her hug. He didn't stop to think about her boyfriend; he just enjoyed how good the hug felt and how warm it made him feel in the cold Rhode Island winter. A few seconds later, they let go.

"Thank you again!" Gaara smiled.

Matsuri giggled. "You're always welcome!"

Seeing as how he had a little time after work, Gaara drove to Planet Fitness, located in the nearby Apple Valley Mall. Going to the gym didn't help with his dislike of strangers, but he was fortunate in that people rarely bothered him here. After scanning his card at the front desk, Gaara changed into a light gray T-shirt and dark green athletic shorts before putting his stuff in one of the lockers. Now ready to rock, Gaara started off with the lat pulldown machine, managing fifty reps at the 200-pound setting. He cracked an evil smirk after he was finished with it.

(Yes, feel my power!)

On his way to the shoulder press machine, a young lady running on one of the treadmills caught Gaara's attention. Sure, the long, curly blonde hair tied into a ponytail was interesting, especially considering that it appeared to be natural rather than dyed. What really grabbed him, though, was her attire: a blue sports bra and black running shorts with white stripes, plus a pair of New Balance running shoes. This wasn't the first time that Gaara had seen a woman in a sports bra at this gym, but it was the first time he'd seen one that wasn't skinny as a rail. No, it was obvious that this young woman had curves and wanted the world to know. After looking her over, Gaara squinched his eyes and shook his head. He thought better of trying to chat her up. Though cool and strong externally, he feared being shot down again, so he put on his usual stone face and completed the rest of his exercises with no issues.

In one of the showers, Gaara had a little problem: he felt aroused. This wasn't the first time he'd ever felt this way while taking a warm shower, but considering he couldn't get that blonde lady out of his mind, it was somewhat disconcerting. He desperately wanted to make the problem go away, even if that meant using his imagination, but he did his best to think better of it.

(Damn it, Gaara, you're better than this,) he thought. (Besides, you should be looking online for more reliable women.)

Thankfully, he managed to leave the shower without letting the public know what was really on his mind. He did his best to stay focused on the door, but his eyes briefly darted to the blonde woman again.

(I wonder: how long has she been running for?)

Back home, Gaara saw Kankuro playing PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds in his room on his PC.

"This doesn't look like MMA training to me," said Gaara.

"Hey, cut it out!" Kankuro kept his focus on the game. "Everybody needs a break every now and then!"

Suddenly, Kankuro lost because some guy in a UAZ-469 ran him over. He pounded on the keyboard like an angry German kid.

"NOW LOOK AT WHAT YOU MADE ME DO!"

"That was your own damn fault." Gaara closed the door and left Kankuro to his Mountain Dew-fueled rage.

Back in his own room, Gaara fired up his computer and immediately checked his E-mail. He found one from Indeed, in regards to his application for National Extruders Inc., a local plastics company. He opened it, and this is what it read:

"Dear Gaara:

Thank you for your interest in our company. However, we have chosen to move forward with other candidates at this time. We wish you the best of luck.

-Regards,

Geoff Dewey, CEO."

Gaara furrowed his brow at the E-mail. A message from POF was no better:

"tl;dr"

Rage consumed Gaara so intensely that he took his keyboard and did a harsher number on it than Kankuro could ever have done. He even tore it in half like a phonebook. After breathing heavily for a moment, he collapsed into the fetal position and let the tears flow. He knew he deserved a better life, so why was it so hard to attain? Was it because of something he did in the past? Did God really hate him that much? He uttered the phrase "oh God" a few times before finally passing out from exhaustion.

Criticism is gold. Negativity and nitpicking are pyrite.