Contender

J met M with the regular congenial smile he had for every first acquaintance, with a ever so ordinary handshake. Nothing or rather no one in the present company of his, did J find exceptional and as for the stranger he just met, J expected nothing extraordinary as well. J keenly observed behavior of the third person with them solely to acquire and then assess any information on M. While it is only human to compare oneself with others, but for J it was the primordial task.