The first thing that popped into Ellie's mind was a voice saying she should just ignore him and walk by as if she hadn't heard him or perhaps just thought he was talking to some other person who was exhibiting the exact same behavior as her. Quickly, she realized that wasn't going to work.
"It's no big deal," Ellie shrugged as she came to a stop a few feet away from him, "I just lost something outside and I want to find it before it gets too dark to look." Instead of standing there waiting for him to let her pass, Ellie started moving again, her eyes focused past him.