You ask if you can go outside.
“Sure.”
Another day, you ask the same question.
“Why are you bothering me right now?”
You start paying attention.
Sometimes you can sit beside them on the couch. Sometimes they tell you to leave them alone. Sometimes a mistake gets a laugh. Sometimes the same mistake makes them angry.
There isn’t always a reason you can see.
Before you ask, you look. You listen to their voice. You watch their face.
Then you decide.