Of course it might be natural to ask why the fly had chosen to land exactly in my soup. Still it was an intelligent move. To smack a fly while it is sitting in a miso soup is difficult, if not close to impossible. Sitting in the middle of the cafeteria, I can not see if anyone else has encountered a similar problem. The Japanese guy at the table next to me probably wouldn't notice anyhow. Being more occupied with the vision of his girlfriend entering the cafeteria; he probably would consider a few flies in his soup a meat bonus. Showing every single tooth that had found a place to fit in his mouth, he smiles when seeing his girlfriend's skirt being even shorter than the one she wore yesterday. 

In the meantime, my soup gets cold. The fly seems reluctant to leave though, having finally found a safe haven in the otherwise dangerous cafeteria. As the girlfriend walks by, the odour of cheap perfume forces the miso smell to leave its domain. She is not wearing shoes, but instead twenty centimetre high blocks that make her look correspondingly much taller. As her back starts hurting in ten years, she will probably regret not having worn normal shoes to school, but at the moment they suit her just fine. Looking around the room, I notice that the newly arrived has taken more than my attention. Only my visiting fly doesn't seem affected, but has instead climbed down to the miso's edge to try the now cooled off soup. 

Restaurants accepted into the Michelin guide can usually offer an excellent cuisine, a splendid view and a sophisticated clientele. Ichigaya has bad food, no view and hardly any clientele at all. Still it has been the first meeting place of many now married couples, and even more friendships have been made and contacts established. Not many Michelin restaurants can make a claim on the same achievements. As the sound of the school bell fills the room, the cafeteria again prepares to uphold its role as an important social institution. The doors open, and a horde of starved students stampede into the cafeteria. The fly is suddenly taken off-guard as I use my chopsticks to sink the tofu, and the brown mixture of mushroom and dirty water slowly surrounds the fly. I get up to hand in my unfinished bowl of soup. Yet again, the cafeteria is able to serve new customers.